You Never Know
by aquaxeyes
Summary: Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay in the making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but she doesn't know that..
1. prologue

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So I know I told myself I would never do this, but I am going to use _some_ of the North American dub names.. though I'm not exactly fond of them! As for pairing.. I don't know what the relationships between each character are going to be like yet, I'm pretty much just going to go with it. 

Also note that the following portion of this fic is meant purely for character development. The good stuff is yet to be revealed.

If there are any comments or questions you want me to respond to, you can either leave a review or message me. I don't have a preference, so both ways work just as well. Right, on to the story!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Prologue.**

* * *

As soon as she stepped out of the club she was ambushed by photographers, cameramen and reporters. 

_Flash. Flash._ "Serena!" _Flash._ "Serena!"

She clutched onto her bodyguard's arm tighter, trying to ignore the urge to respond to her name. Serena Laraway, the only daughter of the famous on- and off-screen couple of the seventies, Michael and Emilie Laraway. She had inherited both her father's French good looks and her mother's Spanish lean, sinuous body--which was looking _very_ alluring in a dark wash denim skirt with black lace trimmings, a pink corset and a pair of black anklestrap stilettos. Not only had she appeared in People magazine's "Sexiest Women Alive" feature (**A/N:** don't sue me, I don't own People either), she also had a decade of experience in runway and print modeling.

But after she turned nineteen she'd disappeared from the celebrity world and no one knew what she had been up to. Not her parents, not her friends, no one. It was therefore easy to forget her name and face because, simply put, "out of sight, out of mind."

Three years later, someone recognized her at the Dark Rose, obviously an exclusive, high-profile club in L.A., on the day trendy fashion designer Mina Bellamy was throwing her very own twenty-third birthday bash.

Knowing that the two were childhood friends and co-workers until they simultaneously retired from the model industry, reporters were alerted and were waiting vigilantly outside of the club until she made her exit. Much to their delight she had company, and it looked like she was taking them to a private after-party. To put it this way, the media was having a field day with Serena Laraway's return.

She didn't think her presence would cause this much attention and immediately flashed her friends an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she sheepishly said, picking up the pace.

"Oh, who cares?" Mina casually replied, flashing smiles at the cameramen and looping her arm into Serena's free one. "The limo's only a few feet away." She walked excitedly in her chrome anklestrap sandals, her silver-sequined mini skirt riding up her thighs. Readjusting a strap to her silk, black and flouncy tank first, she tossed her bright blonde hair aside, indicating that she was done with the press.

Another girl mimicked her, raven hair blocking her face. "And besides," she snorted, "Mina enjoys having everyone in the world know her business."

"Rei!" The blonde laughed heartily.

Serena had to laugh, too. That was their Rei, hot-tempered, sarcastic and an overbearingly protective friend.

To everyone else, she was just Rei Hino, an exotically beautiful Japanese actress fit for foreign martial arts movies. No one cared that the most praised choreographed moves she dished out on-screen were ones she came up with on her own. All they cared for was the _image_ of her that night, her tiny frame accentuated with a silk, red and backless mock turtleneck, a white leather mini skirt and matching red peep-toe pumps.

Too bad the cameras missed the bruises under her creamy skin, souvenirs from new stunt training she underwent that morning. _'Yeah, she does her own stunts!'_ Serena fumed uselessly at the crowd collecting behind them. Unlike most, she was a natural, and that was just something that the critics overlooked.

"I would've defended you if it wasn't so damn funny and if it wasn't the truth," the brunette behind them said, turning every once in a while to wink and pose at the photographers in a jade babydoll halter dress and gold strappy platforms. Like Mina, she was enjoying the spotlight. She was never one to live without it, anyway.

Melita--Lita to them--Cunningham had become the leader in runway after Serena and Mina's retirement. Her height, unbelievable figure and grace were what the competition in her field envied. She was strong both physically and mentally and was an independent woman in practically every way.

A shining example of that statement was how she went about making her dream house; she helped create the structure of her one-point-two million dollar home, had paid for it herself _and_ maintained it as much as possible on her own. Had she not been a runway model she would've been an excellent homemaker.

Then again, Mina, Rei and Lita weren't the housewife type. _'Far from it,'_ Serena corrected herself. These women had tried, failed, tried again and made sacrifices since they were small to get to where they were. They were born leaders, determined and empowered women. That was how they succeeded at being famous, inspiring and incredibly sexy. Together, they were a female force to be reckoned with.

Serena smiled, allowing her friends to enter her limo first, then getting into it herself. She was very proud of each of them, being at the top of their game and still making time for one other. It was so easy to get carried away, or to run away as she had.

Yes, she admitted and sighed, there were a few reasons why she returned to L.A. but everyone, including her friends, were clueless as to why.

Joel, her bodyguard, closed the door after her, knocking her from her darkening thoughts. And for the first time, her friends had gone quiet, staring her down with intent eyes.

As usual, Mina was the first to speak up. "You're been awfully quiet this entire time, Ren, and I don't think it's the drinks."

"Tell us what it is," Rei said.

"And where we're going," Lita added as the car lurched forward.

Serena stared wide-eyed at them before bursting into laughter. "You guys should look at yourselves. Your faces.. They look so serious, like as if I'm kidnapping you!" she choked between fits of giggles. They did switch glances, mouths twitching in suppressed smiles. Serena had a way of making them smile even when they were trying their damned hardest to be stern with her.

The matter was quite serious to them, however, keeping them sober, at least in the emotional sense. Serena had somehow managed to coerce them into leaving Mina's party over a handful of words. "I've a surprise for you ladies. Two, in fact."

She was never the type to leave them hanging about anything. Usually she would simply burst with whatever secret she was holding inside and report it to them in somewhat of a newscaster manner. For Serena to hold back and act reserved was.. disorienting.

Her laughter died when she realized they weren't going to show any visibly sign of lightening up. "Oh come on, I thought I could surprise you," she pouted.

"I don't like surprises," Rei spat back.

"I don't either," Mina agreed, "especially on my birthday."

Serena groaned at the look Lita gave her and flung her arms out in mock defeat. "Fine. Well if you hadn't noticed, we are one short of our party team, and--"

Before she could finish, her sentence was overpowered by three voices of laughter. "Please tell me you aren't taking us to the hospital to see Ami _while she's working_," Rei said, barely sobering up.

"Not only are we intoxicated.." Lita began.

"..but we're kind of, sort of, you know, famous," Mina finished.

Serena maintained the pout, crossing her arms in growing irritation. "Don't be too cocky."

"It's not being cocky," Lita corrected, "It's being well-known. And well-known people have been, well, known to give not-so-well-known people heart attacks with unexpected guest appearances."

Serena replayed that sentence over in her head just to make sure she didn't confuse herself. "Well, we'd improve business for the hospital if we did show up and that were the case--"

"Serena Catherine Laraway!"

"--Just kidding! Good thing we're not going to the hospital and I booked us a fancy hotel suite for the night."

"I can't believe you--wha?" Rei stopped in the middle of her impromptu tirade.

"Ami's already there, waiting for us and the last surprise I have for you ladies," Serena added before being swooped in one of Mina's tight hugs.

"Great idea, Ren, you've made my birthday!"

"But did you have to be so mysterious about everything?" Lita commented.

"Yeah," Rei said, "that's so unlike you."

Serena smiled wistfully at her tipsy friends. She looked serene albeit tinged with sadness. "Things change."

* * *

The four celebrities had arrived to the 'fancy hotel suite', which had turned out to be a penthouse suite at the top of the building, where a slightly timid young woman was waiting. 

Ami--Dr. Ami Jones to be exact--had shoulder-length blue hair, smoky gray eyes and a tiny frame. Unlike the rest of her companions she dressed modestly in a black, calf-length pencil skirt, a white camisole under a black cashmere wrap and black kitten heel slip ons. Also, in contrast to Mina's long silver chain, Rei's red dangling earrings, Lita's chunky jade bangles and Serena's black lace choker, the only jewelry she possessed was a white gold wedding band, a ring given to her from her American architect of a husband.

Like Rei, Ami was a Japanese native who had come to the states to pursue her dream at a young age. When Rei was visiting Serena during her freshman year of college, they collided--Ami was starting her post-baccalaureate years at the same institution--and the three instantaneously became friends.

Though the women's lives were crazy-busy they kept in constant contact, and when Rei and Serena introduced her to Mina and Lita after one of Lita's runway shows, the "party team" was created.

Mild in nature, Ami responded to Serena's outburst, "Dr. Jones, Dr. Jones, calling Dr. Jones!" with a laugh. "If only I were as drunk as you are right now," the doctor uncharacteristically said.

"As you wish," Lita said, handing her friend a glass half-full of champagne from the limousine. Joel watched as another party began to unfold and took his post at the elevator-slash-door.

Three hours later the girls gone wild were starting to wind down. Half-dressed and completely sloshed, they relocated up in the loft, sprawled out on whatever was comfortable and started to talk.

"So the chief hasn't made you change your uber-rebellious hair color yet?" Mina, who had found comfort in laying against the doorframe connected to the bathroom, asked her blue-haired friend. She looked over to see that Ami was laying on her stomach on a very plush loveseat.

"Surprisingly no," came the somewhat slurred answer. "Guess it's because I'm the youngest there, and I'm still just a resident. Plus, my hair's always covered and held back during surgery."

"Our Ami, a neurosurgeon in training," Rei said, sighing in admiration from her spot on the floor. They all went silent, exchanging warm smiles, until out of nowhere, Lita's voice put one particular friend on the spot. "Ren," she called out from the foot of the bed to the head, "you never did tell us what you've been doing these past three years."

The blonde in question swallowed a lump in her throat as the others sat up to gaze at her. She blushed a nice rosy color. Endearing to them, heart-wrenching for her. "Oh, you know, going to college. Without a bodyguard," she joked and loosened up as they laughed.

"Where'd you go?"

"AUP, the American University of Paris."

"And you graduated?"

She was tempted to snap at Rei, but knew it was a sincere question. "Mm-hmm."

"With what degree?"

"Film studies. And a minor in theater and performance."

"Wonderful! Congratulations!" Ami beamed. Serena smiled. "Domo, Dr. Jones! And on that note, I have an announcement to make."

Everyone loaded onto the king-sized bed and scooted in, eyes curious, asking, "Wha-at?"

Serena laughed, lifted her hand to silence them, then said, "Drumroll please." The four did the best they could under the circumstances--drunk, curious and in mini-skirts--and were left agape when Serena suddenly declared, "I'm making a movie!"

Her friends' delayed reaction came in a single, shocked wave.

"What?"

"What!"

"What?!"

"No way!"

Serena grinned, glad that she caught her usually clever friends off guard. "While I was in college I wrote a script for an independent film. It's a quick-witted, dark romance that I'm sure you'll love when it comes out. Anyway," she said, stopping herself from rambling, "I sent a copy of the script to Brandon and as soon as he read it he told me he'd produce it."

"Brandon? You mean--"

"The one and only Brandon Logan!" the blonde affirmed happily. She was pleasantly surprised that Ami was the first one to figure out who she was talking about.

In the past Serena made sure that they all had an earful of Brandon Logan, movie producer and owner of his own film studio. It was he who brought her parents together.

Back then, he was only a director, but when he saw the talent oozing from each of the two actors in the previous films they had done, he coerced his fellow casting director to beg them to couple up in his next film. His theory and reasoning for this: "Stars naturally shine brightest when shining together."

In any case, Michael and Emilie signed on to the cast, met and immediately took a liking to each other. The rest was, as they say, history--and a little bit of chemistry.

The result of such a matching was pretty amazing. The movie was a hit. In fact, it was number one at the box office for four weeks straight! The movie and its leading couple received many nominations and awards for its creativity and their roles. Michael and Emilie were the talk of the year, especially when they announced that they were getting married.

Brandon stayed close friends with them, even inviting them to star in another smash hit film, and when Serena was born, he was given the honor of being her godfather. So whenever Serena ran away 'indefinitely' or wanted to talk about things she couldn't bring up with her parents, she went to him.

As if she read her mind, Mina asked, "Do your parents know?"

She shook her head only to get a collective, "Ren!"

"My parents know I'm in town," _'..or at least they'll know by tomorrow..'_ "they just don't know that I'm involved in a screenplay. Not only would they be pissed that Brandon's funding the whole project, they'd probably be disappointed that I didn't go back to runway and print instead."

Silence. After all, the four women couldn't tell Serena how _her_ parents would react to something like this.

"Aren't you guys going to congratulate me? For once stupid Serena did something on her own without having to be told what to do and you guys are acting like I've haven't worked my ass off for the past three years!"

Silence. Which she interpreted as unacknowledgment. "Jerks."

A pillow whacked her on the side of the head. It came from Rei, and she was looking just as angry as the blonde. "That's for calling yourself stupid." The two stared long and hard at each other, Serena wondering whether she should be flattered or irritated and Rei, whether or not she should smack her again.

An evil glare dissolved into an impish grin and suddenly every pillow surrounding the five was tossed in the air.

* * *

_Gone. Before she even knew, before she even realized it happened. Without a word, without any kind of forewarning. Just gone. Like him._

_She slid to the ground. Every muscle had turned to jelly as shock rippled down her spine. Yes, shock, because the news hadn't sunk in and neither had the ride back home until this moment. The world was moving on its own accord, leaving her behind instead of carrying her away like it used to._

_Her mind was stumbling backward. She was thinking too fast, of her happiest moments, of the shittier times, especially of last night, and then it all rushed together in one fatal blow. With a pathetic yelp she started to cry. It started off soft and built toward a series of loud weeps and shudders, each intake of breath racking her body._

_Her face felt hot, cooled only by the tears splattered on her face. Who knew she could feel such immense pain? That breathing at this point could feel like a punch in the gut or that crying could make her head feel like it was exploding? Her realm was colliding into a single truth, an acute sense of loss._

'Let me die!'_ her mind screamed,_ 'I can't stand this much punishment!'

_There was no argument. No piece left in her mind to tell her she didn't deserve what happened or that she shouldn't give up. It was nothingness, and she succumbed to it readily.._

_As if by some miracle, something broke through her thoughts. The distinct sound of the phone ringing._

_She stared at the phone long and hard, wondering if this was a sign of some sort. Logic betrayed her, because she began to think that m__aybe it was him. Maybe.. maybe he was calling to say he was coming back and that he would help her get through this. __Even though she secretly knew it was a wasted idea, the thought of him honestly was her last string of hope._

_In desperation she grabbed the phone and held it to her ear. "He-Hello?"_

_"Serena?"_

_No, it wasn't him. "Brandon," she said, trying to lower her voice an octave or two. Disappointed. Here she was in the middle of her darkest hour and her godfather called out of the blue._

_"Serena, are you okay?"_

'Far from it, Brandon.'_ "Yeah," she said, coughing in attempt to make herself sound normal. Her crying session left her congested, and her head hurt at the temples. "Yeah, I've got a cold, though."_

_"Sorry to hear that."_

_She tried not to choke up again. "Me too."_

_"Well, then, I'll be brief," Brandon said gently. "It took me a while to get to your script, but I finally read through it. I have to tell you, Ren, it's brilliant. I love it. I couldn't put it down, and yes that meant I even took it with me to the bathroom."_

_She forced a laugh before coughing and feeling the weight of the month's events on her heart again. Sniffling a few times, she brought a hand to her steamed forehead and shakily inhaled. "I'm taking that as a very good thing."_

_"It is. I--we, have to put this on a screen. It's too good of an opportunity to pass up."_

_Her breath caught in her throat after realizing what he was saying. "Seriously?"_

_"Seriously."_

_"You're not just saying that because you love me?"_

_Brandon chuckled, releasing some of the tension in her high-strung frame. "I'm saying this script should be turned into a movie from a professional standpoint. I'm saying I'm proud of you because I love you."_

_She smiled softly to herself, though the pain unforgotten in her mind may have turned it into a grimace. "Thanks. This is wonderful news. I mean it."_

_"Good. So does this mean that you'll come out of hiding, return to L.A. and help me produce this thing?"_

_Produce? That was probably the farthest thing from her mind right then. After a few weeks without word from Brandon she started not to believe he would ever take time to read her script. And of course he would after her life had crumbled into little bits of pieces._

_She bit her lip, really contemplating what she should do. She was done with college now, her script had been approved for production back home and she had no lingering ties left in Paris._ 'He's not going to call,'_ she finally realized, her eyes threatening to swell up in tears again._

_In a split second she made a decision that would change the direction of her life. "I will."_

_The phone call ended soon after that promise. As she replaced the phone back on its cradle, she sank against the wall. Karma was a kick in the face._

* * *

The next morning Serena had woken up to an insistent pounding against the door. She heard Mina groan in her sleep, trying to drown it out. "Turn it off," Rei mumbled, complaining as if the noise was an alarm clock. Serena chuckled, sitting upright with ease. 

The sun was up, peaking through the half-drawn curtains. She guessed that it was only eight. Three hours of sleep and she was quite awake, though it could've been the dream--_thud! Thud thud!_

That damn pounding! It was coming from the door, she realized and then mentally slapped herself for her stupidity. Obviously the breakfast she ordered had arrive. So much for being awake and aware.

She cleared her throat and called out, "I'll be there in just a sec, Joel!"

She looked down and gasped. She was a mess! Her corset was twisted so that the inseam was straight down her stomach and her skirt was resting dangerously high. While she was fixing these two things she spotted a bathrobe and quickly flung that around her body. Running her hands through the ends of her hair undid most of the tangles and she pinched her cheeks to make them look rosy and alive.

By the time she descended from the loft to her and her friends' buffet-style breakfast the bellboy was quite upset. Until he saw an apologetic Serena looking disheveled in a bathrobe and stilettos and handing him a Benjamin Franklin. "Thank you so much for being patient with Joel here. Making a delivery with him around is always difficult. I-uh.. yeah. Thanks." she stuttered out.

The bellboy took one more look at her, the one hundred dollar bill she had given him and tilted his head to catch a handful of barely-dressed women coming down the stairs. Not only that, they were covered in feathers from their pillow fight. Serena blushed, stepped in front of his view, and politely ushered him out.

She took one look at her feather-decorated friends and realized what she had missed on her way down. "Joel?" she asked, fearing what the young bellboy was trying not to look at.

He nodded, plucking two feathers from the top of her head. "Argh!" she cried, finding another one behind her neck. _'Great! Hopefully that bellboy didn't have a camera!'_ she fretted.

"Aspirin?" Lita called out, sinking onto the closest couch.

"I lived in France, Mina's a party slut, Rei's, well, sake master and Ami's a lightweight and not complaining. What the hell happened to you?" Serena asked in disbelief. Once Joel nodded that she was good to go she walked back to the cart the boy had left behind and investigated the covered platters. Seeing that nothing was missing, she motioned for them to dig in and eat.

"In all fairness," Rei said later between bites, "Lita did take the brunt of all that action."

"This is true," Mina nodded, "But only because Ami was ducking my swings right in front of her."

"Hey!" Ami cried and was answered with a few laughs.

The moment was cut short when Joel approached the five with five handbags that were ringing off the hook. Serena thanked him, took the bags and dispensed them out. Simultaneously the women opened their bags and dug inside to find their cell phones. After turning each of their alarms off, they took a look at their task lists with set jaws.

"So.. what's the day looking like?" Serena prompted.

Ami was the first to reply. "Two surgeries, maybe three. Who knows when I'll be out."

Then Lita. "Yoga at nine, cardio at ten, a fitting for that New York show at one and tonight Marco wants to take me out to dinner."

Followed by Mina. "In the office from nine to seven and then I have to make a few calls tonight." Few meaning twenty or more, Serena noted.

And lastly Rei. "Training all day." From what Serena gathered before they left the Dark Rose and were too drunk to remember Rei had been training for a month and a half for an upcoming film. She was especially excited about this one because she was cast to play the bad guy.

"What about you, Ren?" Mina asked, genuinely interested.

"Just a meeting with Brandon at ten. I think he wants me to go over the list of actors we're thinking of inviting to try out."

She said it nonchalantly but again, all attention was on her.

"Now that we're sober and fed, you have to give us more details about that," Lita half-begged.

Serena mentally compartmentalized herself, knowing she would have to sound as detached from her story as possible so as to not leak out any excess information. _'Here goes.'_ "It was the summer before my last year at the university. Didn't feel like taking summer courses and as you know I couldn't get a part-time job as a local waitress. I was bored and didn't know what else to do.

"One day I went out to a small cafe. It was supposedly one of those 'hot spots' for young people to go to, and that night was what they dubbed "Open Mic Night". I walked in and sat in the farthest corner, watching as talented individual after talented individual went on stage and read poetry, performed songs and acted out skits. Most of it was about relationships, love and romance.

"Then one young man went up there with his guitar and played one of the most beautiful songs I've heard. It was wordless, sad but sweet at the same time, reflecting all sorts of emotions you'd feel in a relationship that took off and crashed miserably. It was really inspiring to me, so when I got home that night I wrote.

"I wrote and wrote for two weeks straight and when I was finally done I had the full script. It took me a while to find someone I could trust _and_ edit it properly for me. When I got the final copy back school started and I forgot about it.

"It wasn't until my last semester that I sent it to Brandon to get his opinion on it. He didn't call me until after I graduated, but when he did he told me he loved it. Said he had to make this script into a film and not anyone else. And, seeing as how I was done with school and all, I came back this past Monday."

She left the story there, seeing as how she had rambled for at least seven minutes. Quickly she glanced from friend to friend, hoping to find some sort of positive reaction in their eyes.

"I missed you," Mina blurted out.

Serena laughed shakily, thankful that they hadn't noticed the pauses in her story where important parts were skipped. _'They're not angry that I left,__ just glad that I'm back. I suppose I should be, too. I should be thankful they aren't asking why I left in the first place.'_ "So, who am I taking and where first?"

* * *

**End Prologue.**

**

* * *

**

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part One. The Meeting.

Serena had no idea who would have the audacity to take her own drink from her hands as she was going for a sip until she slowly spun to confront him. Six foot one, slim frame, chiseled features, dark raven hair and midnight eyes. Darien Scott. She smirked. _'What an asshole.'_


	2. part one

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Announcements:** Okay, time to get personal! 

This chapter is dedicated to my friend **Lt. Elphaba Carter**, one of my favorite authors, who involuntarily talked me out of not writing any more fics. She probably doesn't even know this one exists, but it was because of her and other friends I've made on FanFiction that have inspired me to write this, so this goes out to her anyway. I also dedicate this chapter to those who have read my other fics (ha, all three of 'em!). Don't worry, guys, the worst is over, and I'm glad that I've had your support through it all!

And thanks to those who reviewed; **ffgirlmoonie**, **Allison**, **serenity11287**, **x Such Great Heights x**, **anonymous** (?), **liloazngurl03**, **supersaiyanx**, **coreagurl**, **nancy n** and **Rena1**.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part One. The Meeting.  
****_"A grande vanilla bean frappuccino would be amazing."_**

* * *

The morning was going by slowly, mainly because she was late. She--he didn't even know her name--arranged a meeting with Brandon to personally meet a room full of actors to potentially invite to audition for a movie role, and she hadn't shown up. He watched Brandon mid-nervous breakdown, once again asking his first assistant, "You say she's not picking up her phone?" She nodded her head vigorously, fed up with his antics, but he was too clouded with dissatisfaction to notice. 

Brandon Logan appeared to be nothing more than an indecisive celebrity golf player in his early fifties, unsure of which angle to use as he stomped back and forth and occasionally paused. Yet he was _the_ movie producer, with sixteen successes to his name.

He, on the other hand, was merely the boy who carried the golf bag in this metaphorical trail of thought. Darien Scott, twenty-two and Hollywood's latest eye candy celebrity, was talked into auditioning for would-be success number seventeen by none other than Brandon's own nephew, Andrew Logan, who was currently flirting with Brandon's second assistant over coffee. Andrew, also a celebrity at the tender age of twenty-four and Darien's best friend, was going to be auditioning as well.

He doubted, however, that this process was going to be much of a competition. He and Andrew, after all, were Brandon's best bets, with their popularity on the rise and their impressive credentials. Taking a look around he didn't see any other men that would pose as a threat.

This was more an audition for the two leading actresses, if anything. It would explain why two-thirds of the actors present were female and why they were trying to calm Brandon down, bending over in their slutty tops to 'offer him a massage' or 'grab him some water', trying to horde his attention in the meanwhile.

_'Suck ups!'_ he hissed to himself then sighed. If only she would just show up and end this torture of waiting.

* * *

Serena was running late on purpose. It wasn't because she wanted to make a fashionable entrance--she was still in her getup from last night's venture for pity's sake! No, it wasn't because she wanted to stun anyone with her beauty and presence. 

She was late because after she had dropped Rei off at the training facility at a studio on the other side of town Brandon--or rather his assistant--left a voicemail pretty much saying, "I hope you didn't party too hard last night. Oh, and by the way, instead of meeting up with a casting director I figured you could do a better job with picking the right actors. That being said I invited all the ones on the list I made so you could meet them face to face. We're all here waiting for you, so see you soon!"

Her slightly dazed mood had turned into a bad one almost immediately. For one, she had ten minutes to drive back to his side of town. Two, he had called at least forty-odd actors in some sort of attempt to 'wing it' instead of looking for actors the formal way. And three, she didn't have enough time to return to her beach condo and take a shower! Seething, she drove to Brandon's studio at about twenty-five miles per hour, her mind racing at a faster pace.

_'Who in his or her right mind would show up here just to make it to some impromptu audition like it were reality TV? And only for a part that they_ might _get. A-And how dare Brandon get all spontaneous on me! That is such a_ me _thing to do! No one should be allowed to do that_ but _me!'_

Despite what Rei might have thought, Serena was not stupid. While living in France she did keep up with the American celebrity gossip. It helped her to know what was going on in Mina, Lita and Rei's lives and also who was becoming the center of media attention. That being said, she had recognized a few names on the list of 'potentials' on Brandon's list. They were higher up on the acting chain than what she'd expected. She thought Brandon quite ambitious for considering actors of that level for her meager screenplay.

To think of what was happening in her absence made her temper simmer. They were probably saying horrible things about her by now. But she refused to push the accelerator, knowing that in ruining her image she was humbling Brandon's as well. She took comfort in that fact, and was only too grateful that Ami had lent the blonde her cashmere wrap when she started to get cold last night.

When she slowly slid up to the security guard at his booth she was nineteen minutes late. _'All those big names, being put on hold on account for me. Ha! He's going neurotic. I can feel it!'_

"Hi, I'm Serena Laraway and I've a meeting with Brandon."

* * *

Darien joined Andrew until the assistant left, hastily avoiding the small talk some of the actresses had been trying to engage him with. They were vipers, at least the ones he met, and they followed the same general pattern. If they weren't going to make the cut they were at least going to throw themselves at whichever famous man they could get their hands on. 

Natalie Bridges was the perfect example to his theory. The nineteen-year-old actress had already tainted her reputation with a slapdash marriage that wound up annulled after the first week. The man wasn't famous, at least not in the biblical sense. He was a male stripper one of her friends hired to 'kinky it up' at her last birthday party.

In any case, it didn't matter if the brunette had bewitching green eyes or a flat midriff, she was throwing herself at Darien and then at Brandon in the most disgusting way. _'Whatever happened to decency or self-respect? Ah, of course, how could I forget? Morality is lost to Hollywood.'_

So wrapped up in these kinds of thoughts was he that he missed what Andrew had asked. "Sorry, what?"

Andrew sighed, knowing that his friend was slowly starting to tense up. Seriously, the man was so high-strung! Never in his life did Darien Scott take anything in an easy-going manner. "Don't tell me you're nervous," he said skeptically, wondering if that was the case.

"Nervous? Me? Unheard of," came the reply.

"Good. Because you shouldn't have to worry. I talked to my uncle and I'm sure we've got the parts. This is all just a formality."

"Don't be too cocky," Darien warned.

"It's not being cocky. It's being well-known--"

"So what was it you asked me?"

That was Darien, changing the subject to avoid the blonde's rambling. "Jerk. I said, "Can you believe that Natalie Bridges is here, in the very same room as us?" to which you replied with nothing."

"I still would have replied with nothing." He could have told Andrew that Natalie was the one who had driven him to his friend's side, but he didn't want to hear Andrew's 'you-think-every-girl-who-hits-on-you-is-creepy' spiel.

Andrew made a calculated pause, followed by, "How did you ever get so popular?"

Darien's eyes glinted playfully and nodded in a specific direction. "Why don't you ever go for women like that?"

Andrew did a double take of the redhead who had stayed away from Brandon. It may not have been by choice since she was busy trying to ward off one or two actors but she seemed too shy to approach the movie producer. Andrew winced. Her smile looked genuine as she rejected those men. "I don't know."

Darien rolled his eyes, then spotted Brandon's first assistant. "Excuse me, miss," he called out, trying to get her attention. She turned instantaneously, smiling and saying, "You can call me Elsa, Mr. Scott."

"Elsa," he breathed, noting how she brightened up after being called by her name, "Is there anything else but coffee and water here?"

"I was going to run to Starbucks to get Brandon a red eye, did you want me to get you something?"

"A grande vanilla bean frappuccino would be amazing," he drawled, wiping at the nonexistent sweat on his brow.

"No problem," she said, smiled and left.

* * *

Serena made it to the main building after talking to the security guard about her spanking wheels, a beautiful silver Audi TT Roadster, for another five minutes. She decided he was a nice guy and pulled into the nearest spot. As she climbed out of her car she spotted a familiar face. "Else!" 

Brandon's assistant gave out some sort of squeal and ran over to greet her. "Serena! God, you look gorgeous!"

She felt pretty shitty but she could never discredit a sincere compliment. "Aww, thanks Else! You're looking pretty damn good yourself." And she meant it, once she observed the blonde assistant. Slim light wash jeans and a black three-fourth sleeve top covered her petite frame. _'A girl after my own heart.'_

Elsa flushed, tossing her curly blonde hair to the side. "I try."

They shared a brief snicker before Elsa formed a panic-stricken face. "Brandon's been waiting for you for almost half an hour!"

"I know. He pissed me off," Serena said with a smile.

Elsa looked like she wanted to smile but refrained. "You should get in there and save him. Actors are throwing themselves at his feet left and right."

"Anyone cute?" she joked.

"Hmm, maybe one or two. But I'm on my way to Starbucks, did you want anything?"

Serena gave it a split second's thought. _'My first week back in L.A. could be a lot better with the usual.'_ "A grande vanilla bean frappuccino would be amazing."

The assistant made it into her car and was about to take off when Serena waved her down. "By the way, Else, make sure Brandon's red eye gets four shots of espresso and light ice. And try not to go seventy.. again."

As she stepped into the building memories flooded in. She remembered when Brandon took her on her first tour around his studio. She was seven and curious and tried to memorize every detail of the place. It paid off. She found the back door to the meeting room within four minutes of walking.

Behind the door she could hear the bustle of people in there. She shuddered, being a little cluster phobic and dreading having to act like an upper class bitch. _'As long as everyone keeps their distance and doesn't mull me over, I'll be fine.'_ She took a deep breath, opened the door quietly and snuck in. No one looked up.

_'Good. Unnoticed. Not like they could see past themselves anyway. But now I get to work.'_ She watched as actors and actresses drifted around impatiently, trying to socialize but finding it hard to. After all, they weren't here on some social call. It was a battle to the death, survival of the fittest. All over some gig they could add to their bloated egos. Serena was seriously reminded of a safari.

To her right she spotted some of the actresses trying to butter Brandon up, offering massages, water and exposed cleavage. _'Eww! No to those ones!'_

She slowly walked around, quietly noting everything. Dress, mannerisms, attitudes. A redhead caught her eye. _'That must be Reika Matthews. Well she's not clinging on to Brandon and she's dressed decently.'_ She felt guilty for passing judgment on these people, but she'd seen enough movies to know who had talent and who didn't. Reika Matthews did. And she wasn't trying to get on anyone's good side to prove it.

Serena paused and checked her watch. _'Hmm, Else should be back soon--'_

The thought was cut short when Elsa slipped through the back door, not wanting the Starbucks drinks to be seen. She spotted Serena first and started to weave her way to her. "Sorry, there was traffic."

Serena grinned. "Don't worry about it. No one knows it's me yet. Thank you, by the way," she added, taking the drink from her.

"No problem. I'm gonna go drop this off, are you going to be okay?"

"Go for it," she beamed, sending the girl off to fulfill her duty.

She identified a couple more actors she had seen on TV or in magazines and brought the cup in her hands toward her face. But before she could even place her lips on the straw a hand came out of nowhere and cleanly swiped the drink. "Sorry, Elsa, but I'd prefer if you didn't do that," a deep voice stated behind her.

Darien didn't know what was going on. He spotted Elsa when she entered the room and lost her for a moment, but then he caught the blonde in her black shirt sauntering to the side of the room where he and Andrew were waiting. Only she didn't look like she was going to bring him his drink. She looked like she was about to drink it!

_'There's no way to get good service these days,'_ he muttered to himself and paced over there to claim his drink. He didn't know why the Elsa in front of him hadn't turned around yet or why the Elsa who approached him to his right looked so horrified--

_'Wait,'_ he stopped himself, _'If that's Elsa on my right, then the culprit standing in front of me is..' _That's when she turned around and he almost choked on the frappuccino.

Serena had no idea who would have the audacity to take her own drink from her hands as she was going for a sip until she slowly spun to confront him. Six foot one, slim frame, chiseled features, dark raven hair and midnight eyes. Darien Scott. She smirked. _'What an asshole.'_

Darien couldn't explain why he felt slightly intimidated by the strangely familiar young woman standing in front of him. She was a little less than a foot shorter than him, with party attire on and her wavy blonde hair wrapped in a sexy bun--_'Sexy? Oh god, what am I thinking? She tried to steal my drink, that thief!'_

"That was actually my drink," she said coolly, her eyes glittering a baby blue hue._ 'Baby blue? Next thing I know I'll be spouting sonnets. Come on, focus! Not on her eyes!'_ He groaned inwardly, damning his hormones.

Quickly he realized that aside from her baby face she looked like every other actress in the room, stilettos and all. And he reminded himself of how he felt toward her kind, disgust. _'Nothing like a mental cold shower,' _he thought, eyeing the corset under her wrap.

"I very much doubt that. You see," he said, taking on a mocking tone, "Elsa left a few minutes ago to pick up a drink for Brandon and asked if she could get me anything. As you can plainly see, the red eye is Brandon's, which would make this _my_ drink."

Serena looked on incredulously as he took another sip from his horribly rude narration. It reminded her of someone she knew.. "I also ran into Else on my way in and asked for her to bring me back a drink. For all you know that could be mine." _'Not like it matters now!'_

_'Else?'_ Darien asked but quickly shrugged it off. "Well I'm sure this wasn't made with soy, so if you think about it, I'm doing you a favor."

"A favor?" _'Soy?! What does he think I am, an actress?!'_ That's when the light bulb in her head flickered on. Giving him a warning smile, she said, "The last thing I would need is a favor from a shmuck you. But an apology will do just fine."

_'Shmuck?! What does she think I am, her agent?!' _"I agree. An apology for stealing _my_ drink almost spreading your germs on _my_ straw should be in order." He laughed hautily, trying to annoy her as much as possible. It worked but her face shut down into a mask a second later. "No frowns?" he taunted, "Afraid to get wrinkles?"

"Just when I think it is impossible for you to be even more ill-mannered you prove me wrong in twenty seconds! And I'm sure that makes you proud." The statement brought a boyish grin to his face. _'Damn him!'_

Elsa glanced from Darien to Serena helplessly, then realization set in her face. "I see what happened," she tried to cut in, "You _both _ordered--"

"A grande vanilla bean frappuccino." They said in sync, then switched glares for doing so.

Elsa continued without pause. "--and I only bought one drink for--"

"Me." Again, synchronized. In fact, the rest of their exchange was voiced simultaneously.

"Hey!"

"Stop that!"

"Ahem!" This intentional clearing of the throat brought them both back to the reality of where they were, with a particular blonde staring at them. "Long time, no see, Ren," Andrew said, amazed at what he had strolled upon.

At the sound of his voice Serena tore her eyes away from Darien's and to her feet. A blush graced her cheeks and she stepped back. _'Oh god! Who said that? Never mind that! Damage control, quick!'_

Darien smiled smugly, thinking her beautifully tinged complexion meant he had her. She had just made herself look like a complete idiot in front someone that recognized her and someone she was startled to have looked up at. _'Probably an ex of Andrew's. Bad terms, I hope.'_

She narrowed her eyes at the green-eyed blonde. Then she did something unexpected. She flung her arms around Andrew and cried out, "Drew!"

When Serena pulled away she ignored the man standing next to him and smiled out of sheer happiness. "I haven't seen you in like three years!"

"Has it been that long?" the blonde man asked sheepishly.

Serena rolled her eyes playfully. "You look great."

Darien's brow raised. _'Definitely an ex.'_

"So do you," Andrew replied.

She laughed, saying, "Lies. I came straight from Mina's birthday party and didn't have enough time to change or else I would've been late."

"Mina? Oh I forgot that was last night! Damn! Give her my apologies?"

"Mmh, fine. So what are you doing here?"

Darien's eyes bulged at the girl's question. Did she really just ask Andrew that?

"I'm going to be starring in Brandon's film," Andrew declared, posing in an arrogant manner.

For the first time Serena's face fell in front of him. "You are?"

Andrew nodded, adding, "And so is my buddy Darien here. Brandon said so." As the blonde motioned at him the girl's eyes fell on him again, giving him a thorough onceover. He had been sort of jealous--just a _little, miniscule, microscopic_ bit--when Andrew became her center of attention. But now that her gaze was back on him, he felt restless. Shifting uncomfortably, he avoided her eyes. "By the way," Andrew said in her silence, "What are you doing here, Ren?"

"Going to talk to your uncle," she said and stomped off.

Darien stared at the girl in disbelief as she sifted through the chunks of gawking actors with ease and closed in on Brandon. With an authoritative voice she said, "Mr. Logan, may I have a word?"

Everyone froze for a moment and Brandon moved a few of the actresses out of the way to see who had spoken to him. Quickly, he brought himself to his feet, stepped away from the women who had jealousy flashing across their faces and came to her side. The blonde, who was looking furious, turned so that her back was to the rest of the room and like a marionette, he followed suit.

"Who does she think she is?" Darien fumed.

"Who, Ren?" Andrew asked.

"Is that her name? Ren?"

"It's a nickname, for the way her mother pronounces her name. Seh-ren-ah," the blonde phonetically said with a slight Spanish accent.

"Serena?" Darien asked numbly, testing the name on his own lips. _'Why does that _sound _familiar?'_

"Yeah. She's Brandon's goddaughter, but she's been gone for three years. We weren't friends then so you guys haven't met yet."

"So she's not an ex."

"God, no! She's practically my cousin." Shock spread across Andrew's face and he examined his friend's face carefully. "D-Darien, you don't know who she is?"

"No."

"That's Serena Laraway. As in Michael and Emilie Laraway."

Darien's stomach dropped as he realized why he thought he saw her face somewhere before and why he felt he should know her name. Serena Laraway, one of the modeling industry's legends. One of the sexiest women alive. The daughter of one of Hollywood's favorite couples. _'I'm an asshole.'_

While he was coping with the fact that he had insulted the daughter of two of his favorite actors, Serena was steadily losing her patience. Brandon looked at her, irritated as well. "I was wondering how Elsa could've remembered how to order my red eye."

"She didn't," the blonde replied, returning his steady gaze. _'Forget the damn red eye!'_ "I'm sure you know that I am upset."

"Why would my _extremely_ late casting director be upset?"

"That's just it," Serena said, keeping her temper in check, "I wasn't supposed to be casting director. You were supposed to find one and the three of us were supposed to be having a private meeting right now, not getting ourselves into this kind of mess!"

"I was trying to give you a little freedom here, to show you that this is _your_ screenplay and that you've responsibilities for this project."

"If that's the truth then why did your nephew claim you already gave him and Darien Scott the male leads?" she hissed.

Brandon took her anger with a grain of salt. "Not only are those two the most qualified and popular actors in the room, they fit the description of your characters perfectly. And it doesn't take a movie producer like me to figure out these guys are talented."

Serena chewed on what he said. True enough, she understood why Darien's attitude struck her memory. It was similar enough to the main male character in her script. And looking back at her and Andrew's childhood, she knew he was a good fit, too. _'Ugh, great, so he's right about Andrew _and_ the pompous jerk. But he should've told me that he'd already made up his mind instead of pretending to allow me freedom of choice!'_

"I guess you thought I wouldn't know your taste," Brandon muttered when she didn't say anything.

"I didn't think that at all," Serena said, softening, "But you have to know that today reflects poorly on us. Herding these men and women in here like low-grade actors shows a lack of propriety and professionalism on both our parts. I just don't want actors walking away without a role and thinking this was the worst experience they've ever had. It wouldn't do your image any good."

As soon as she mentioned his image, she took a good look at him. He looked like a professional golfer in his pleated khakis and pique polo. Glowering revealed the three new wrinkles on his usually ambient face. Nonetheless, his cheeks were puffed, his eyes sedated by caffeine and his chin was set the way she remembered. She made her observation of his graying hair obvious and cheekily asked, "Getting old, are we?"

Brandon's scowl lifted into a grin ever-so-slowly. "Oh how I've missed you," he mumbled, swooping the girl under his arm. Comments like that were not frowned upon, they were welcomed. Only Serena would know how to worm herself into his heart with a serious blow to his ego.

Serena smiled, but continued seriously. "What about female leads?"

"Didn't want to go there. You saw for yourself."

She nodded. "I was thinking Reika Matthews for support."

"I agree."

"I don't know about the other girls, I suppose we should carry on with this meeting, then."

Darien watched Brandon and Serena closely, trying to tie everything together. _'Serena's a supermodel._ Was _a supermodel. She retired before she disappeared. And she's not an actress. She was just running late from a party.. Argh! Why the hell is she here? And why did I have to be so obnoxious?'_

As they turned around to face their audience, Darien put his mortification on pause. _'Wait a sec. The confidentiality. The relief on his face. No freaking way..'_

Much to the raven-haired man's chagrin Brandon called for everyone's attention, which he and Serena already had, and said, "Ladies and gents, I'd like you to meet my assistant director-slash-drama coach and the casting director of this future film, Serena Laraway."

* * *

For the rest of the week Darien agonized over the day he met Serena Laraway, replaying the scene over and over in his head. After she walked off to talk to Brandon and was announced as the ruler of his fate in the production, she kindly offered for everyone to take a seat. 

At that decisive moment the meeting had taken off in a serious and professional manner. Serena apologized for being late and explained that she was "preoccupied with a successfully distracting situation" she couldn't easily get out of. She made her audience laugh light-heartedly, even the actresses who had shot daggers at her through their envious eyes earlier. _'Although, thinking about it now,' _he mused, _'They probably realized she was part of the whole equation of landing a role.'_

"Had I known that I'd have the company of these many stars in one room," he also recalled her saying, "I would have brought my sunglasses." It was a corny joke, but it served its purpose. Sure enough, all negative energy had dissipated from the room.

She really didn't have to use flattery as a weapon, especially since she really didn't need to get on anyone's good side, though through disarming the tension in the room, she was able to key them in to the current dilemna. "Unfortunately, that would do me no good since my objective is to examine each star and decide which one would shine best in this screenplay. Truly, I'm in a bind."

Darien had to hand it to her. Serena's amateur skills at reverse psychology had everyone feeling some sort of sympathy for her 'bind'. _'Must've had lots of practice on her parents.' _Successfully manipulating her audience she quickly transitioned into the second part of her speech, never losing her momentum. Her words were mesmerizing, describing the gist of the plot, the different roles open for grabs and finishing with the private interviews.

He was relieved to find that Brandon had taken to interviewing the actors while Serena had actresses audition with her. Everything had gone smoothly then.

That was then, but now it was already Friday. Friday and still nothing. Not one word. Andrew received a call within two days to hear that he was offered the supporting role, the role _he_ was going for! Had the situation been in his favor, he would've gotten a phone call at least by now. He strutted from one side of the room to the other, angsty.

How could he have expected to be called? How could he have hoped that Serena had hit her head and forgotten how horrible he was to her? He was practically begging to mortify himself and he could no sooner expect to have attained the role he auditioned for than hear from her ever again!

He groaned, realizing he had probably lost his shot in a Logan production. But he couldn't tell what was eating at him most, not getting the part or being so snobbish toward Serena. "She hates me," he murmured unconsciously.

As he pondered over his situation a certain blonde was stomping back and forth in practically the same rhythm.

"I hate this," she moaned, her eyes narrowing on her cell phone lying on the coffee table every ten seconds. _'Ha! Like as if it would get up by itself and run away. Even if I asked it to. Nicely.'_

Honestly, she didn't know why this was killing her inside. She knew from the moment Andrew said he and Darien Scott were Brandon's choices they were consequently hers.

She already called the rest of the cast members and offered them positions, which they all gladly took, but she couldn't bring herself to call Darien. Maybe it was because she felt so miserable about giving him a role in a screenplay she had poured her heart into. _'No,' _she mumbled to herself, _'He can do it. He's good, Brandon knows it, I know it and so does he. Now get over yourself and call him!'_

Automatically responding to herself, she swooped the phone up, pressed redial--yes, she had already tried to call him and chickened out, but _'let's not go there'_--and listened to the ringing on the other line. After the third ring her shoulders started to droop in relaxation. _'He won't pick up? One can only hope--'_

"Hello?"

Darien answered his cell, though he didn't introduce himself to the caller not recognized in his phone. _'Who could it be? Hope it's not a fan.'_

Serena's breath involuntarily caught, shocked that he had actually answered. She almost hung up, but her insanity kept her on the line. _'Ack! The jerk picked up! WhatdoIdowhatdoIdo? Oh yeah,' _she smacked her head fiercely, _'Introduce myself.'_

"Mr. Scott? This is Serena Laraway calling on behalf of Brandon Logan and myself."

"Serena?" she heard him blurt out in surprise. Her brow furrowed. First of all she did not want to be a first-name basis with that creep, at least not until they had worked together and second, why did her name roll off his tongue, pronounced the proper way and repeated so familiarly?

"Yes, that's what I said," she said coolly.

"Sorry, I didn't recognize your number and frankly, you could've been a stalker."

_'How cocky! Wait a minute, he_ is _famous..'_ "I understand. Well, I was calling about your interview this past Saturday." She grimaced, for it literally pained her to go on. "In a nutshell, Brandon and I were impressed with a handful of people, you included."

_'Me included?' _"Oh?" He wanted to hit himself for saying something that stupid. It probably sounded cocky to her.

_'Ugh, there he goes again. As long as he stays monosyllabic I can do this.' _"That being said, we have selected you to take on the lead role, if you're still interested."

_'Selected?'_

"Mr. Scott?"

He didn't answer because he realized what Serena's offer entailed. _'Lead role?! What?!'_

_'What the hell is wrong with him? Has he turned completely mute?' _"Hello?"

He finally found his voice and exploded with, "Are you serious?"

The sound of his voice threw her off guard. "Most of the time and in this case, yes."

"Even after I treated you so callously?" The question was out before he could hold it back.

"Mr. Scott--"

"Darien."

Silence. "The respect you showed me earlier this week did not have any bearing on my decision to call you. Indeed I was quite.. aggravated, but, like any other crew member, actor or director in this wonderful Hollywood industry of ours I have to earn the respect of every individual I plan on working with. I expect it will be difficult to gain your respect as I hope you know it will be for you."

She hoped that somehow he understood that. Actually, she was surprised that she had said that much without sounding incoherent. The last time she had spoken to him was relatively easier; she'd always found sparring with someone went smoother than trying to get along with that person. _'No wonder Rei and I are still best friends..' _In any case, that was the first smooth thing she'd said during the span of the dull conversation.

Darien winced at her already-irritated tone and wondered if she had rehearsed that speech just for that moment. _'Well I should be irritated too! She called me almost a week later to begrudgingly offer me the lead!' _"Tell me," he started, unable to refrain, "Was it you or Brandon who chose me?"

"Does it matter?" he heard her say wearily.

"Yes."

"Brandon," she said, this time without hesitance, "For some reason, he thinks you're perfect for this role."

He felt like he had been slapped, but kept going. "You don't?"

"I don't know. And usually when that is the case, I like to play it safe."

Darien frowned deeply. _'Does she think that she has the upper-hand, that she can insult me without a fight?'_ His free hand clenched in frustration and suddenly he didn't feel so bad about last Saturday. _'You've got another thing coming, Serena.'_

Serena smirked, picturing a withered Darien. She was bubbling with glee at how easily she took open stabs at him. _'Ren, 3. Mr. Scott, 0.'_

Like a miracle, he said something that shot her down. "I appreciate your offer but unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline."

"Excuse me?" _'Is he throwing my offer back in my face?'_

"You heard me," Darien went on calmly, all the while thinking to himself, _'If she can use reverse psychology, then I can. I bet it's already gnawing at her insides.'_

Serena choked on her wounded pride. _'I was winning! Time to do damage control. Again.'_ "I did but I don't think you understand the severity of your decision--"

"Cut the crap, Serena," Darien said, "You know that Brandon wants me in this production and now you've screwed up."

"How exactly did I screw up?" So nonchalance wasn't her forte. She hoped that she at least made it sound like she was mad.

"You just lost me."

The wind had been knocked from underneath her sails. _'Did he actually say that?'_ She nodded to herself and silently cursed herself for doing so. _'Yes, he did and I'm thinking he's unintentionally crossing the line. Oh the cruelty of it all..'_

Darien didn't know what his words were doing to her. Emotions that she hadn't felt since she came back to L.A. came flooding back. Memories she pushed away were rapidly returning. Guilt.. the guilt was the worst. All over four simple words.

_'Fight it!' _she screamed, _'Fight it and fight him!' _It was useless to control herself, though. Those four words had taken affect, the conversion from guilt to angry-borderlining-insane had been made, and she was certain she was seeing red.

"You are positively infuriating, Darien Scott!" she exclaimed, her thumb slipping over the 'end call' button.

_'Did I just do that?!' _A hand clamped over her mouth as she yelped in one shocked breath, "OhgodIhunguponDarienScottI'minbigtrouble!"

"She hung up on me!" Darien yelled back into his phone. Realizing no one was on the other end to hear him, he pressed the 'talk' button twice, the action automatically going into his call log and dialing the number that had called him.

Serena jumped when the phone started ringing in her hand. Without thinking, she answered hotly, "Hello?"

"You hung up on me!" Darien bellowed.

"How did you get this number?" she shrieked, horrified.

"Caller ID, duh."

_'Seriously, Ren, duh!' _Knowing that argument was lost to her, she grasped for some other retaliation. "Wh-why are you calling me?" she stuttered out.

"Not to hear your blubbering voice, if that's what you're wondering."

_'I wasn't you jerk!' _"Obviously. Then why?"

"I still need the script." It had hit him as he was waiting for Serena to pick up that she admitted to Brandon choosing him and not her. That drew him to conclude that no matter what she said, or what he said for that matter, Brandon was going to do everything in his power to keep him. He knew how passionate Brandon was about his productions and knew that once he decided on an actor, there was no changing his mind.

She let out an angry cry, followed by, "You just told me you were going to pass on my offer!"

"Yes, but now that I know Brandon still has some jurisdiction over you--"

"He does not!"

Darien chuckled, which he was sure infuriated the blonde. "I think otherwise. You said it yourself. You didn't choose me. Brandon did. And if you know him, you know he won't take anyone else. Honestly, Serena," he purred, turning cold, "You can't have your way all the damn time."

She shivered at how sensually he said her name then hardened his voice and her eyes widened. She finally understood that Darien Scott was steadily making her lose her cool for the second time that day. _'This cannot be happening! Get a grip, Ren!'_

As harsh a voice as she could muster, she said, "You can pick a copy up from Brandon's studio tomorrow."

Darien smiled when he heard her near-choked answer. _'Time for revenge.' _"I think I'll just have you bring it over yourself."

Serena almost tripped over herself. "What?!" she squealed, "I'm sure you're quite capable of doing things on your own."

"And I'm sure you have an extra copy on you right now."

"That's besides the point--"

"Actually," Darien interrupted, "that _is_ the point. You have a copy of the script in your possession and can easily stop by to drop it off, but you don't want to, even though you could have called to tell me I'm playing a major role in this screenplay half a week ago, and didn't. And now I'm days behind from learning my lines and--when is our first rehearsal?"

Silence. "I don't know where you live!"

"Well I do! So get a pen and I'll give you directions!"

* * *

**End Part One.**

**

* * *

**

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part Two. The Visit.

Andrew eyed him skeptically. "What are you saying, Darien?"

"There's a reason she's come back and I don't think it was just for filmmaking."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can see it in her eyes, this sense of longing and sadness." Too late to take it back, he realized, what he had said made Andrew's brow raise even higher. "Can't you?"

The blonde stared intently at him. Eventually the corners of his mouth began to lift until he was grinning like an idiot. "Is my cousin beginning to become a soft spot for the untouchable Darien Scott--oomph!"

His sentence was cut short by a jab pounding into his nose.


	3. part two revised

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Announcements:** ACK! APOLOGIES. I had to rewrite this chapter. I read it through a couple times and didn't like where it was going at that point, so hopefully you guys know the difference. All right, back to the usual..

This story has had over 1,000 hits, reached 7 of your favorite lists and made 16 of your alert lists. JEAH!!! Ahem.

Thanks to those who left reviews on my last chapter: **supersaiyanx**-2 (in all actuality, I made that section up because I hadn't brought myself to writing it yet but wanted to post part one heehee!), **serenity11287**-2 (:P sorry I took a bit longer to update), **x Such Great Heights x**-2 (I had fun writing their dialogue, I kept smiling everytime I scrolled past it), **raye85** (thanks, I like to point the comedy out in every situation in life, it makes for a more memorable story), **Goddess -Princess-Serenity** (I am very humbled by your words, hope to never disappoint in the future!), **anonymous**-2? (I hope it's the same person..? thanks for continuing to read my updates), **ChieriAn9el** (this is my first fic involving those two characters and I'm glad to see you're liking them),** Michelle** (I was a little nervous about writing a story with unfamiliar names, but it's great to know you like it!), **ffgirlmoonie**-2 (heehee, that gave me the giggles too), **Cloud9WithSugar** (heh, I hope this sates you for the time being, enjoy!) and **Connie **(I was starting to get writer's block until you dropped a note).

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Two. The Visit.  
"It's official. I'm an idiot."**

* * *

"What am I doing?" Serena moaned, trying not to slam her fist on the steering wheel for the fifth time. It was starting to hurt, she noticed. "This is all his fault!" she shouted, scaring the driver on her right. 

She sped up, trying to lighten her mood. Going twenty miles over the speed limit helped for a few minutes, that is until she got off the freeway. Sure, the prestigious neighborhood she had driven into was surreal under the lowering sun, with a pink and purple-streaked road ahead of her, but the one nagging thought returned and ruined the picturesque moment.. _'I should be enjoying this and instead I'm bringing myself closer to Darien Scott!'_

Turning onto the street he specified earlier on the phone, she pulled over and took a moment to breathe. _'Think about it, Ren. What you're doing is utterly embarrassing! __You're going to him like a dog fetching his newspaper!'_

_Rrring! Rrring!_

"What?!" she yelled, staring down at her phone.

_Rrring! Rrring!_

Serena gave her steering wheel a left hook before grabbing her cell phone with her right hand.

"Hello?"

"Do you always answer your phone that harshly?" Darien's voice sang into her ear.

"What do you want?" she spat, feeling her knuckles beginning to sting.

"To know how much longer you're going to take," came the miffed reply.

"I'm getting there! Pasadena wasn't just around the corner, you know?" Had she not been in the middle of shifting out of park she would've put it more, or at least relatively, nicely.

"Yes, I am aware that Pacific Palisades is about half an hour away. And it's only been twice that long since you supposedly left."

"Ha! Don't tell me you were worried. I just had to find the script before I left." In truth, she had spent the first ten minutes after their phone call marching to her car and back to her condo, deciding and then undeciding to go. She was halfway toward Pasadena when she realized in stomping around she forgot to take the copy with her.

She couldn't tell Darien that, though, unless she wanted to be laughed at. And that proved to only rile her up even more. No, she couldn't--she refused to explain that it took two trips to accommodate him and his atrocious demands. Applying a centimeter's worth of pressure on the gas, her car rolled down the street.

Darien leaned over the balcony of his place, looking off into the sunset. _'I should be enjoying this and instead I'm waiting on Serena Laraway!' _Though he couldn't say he didn't ask for it. Ripping a hand through his hair he decided that payback really was a bitch. He should've known that Serena would've been late like she was for her own meeting!

"Like I believe that," he scoffed. "Look, I don't know about you, but I've got stuff to do."

"And what, pray tell, could be more important than this?"

"Hmm," he mused, looking for a way to correct her, "It's not so much "more important" than it is better."

Serena glared at her windshield. _'Why does he have to be so irritating? And why is he bringing me down with him?' _Granted her expertise at sarcasm surpassed her former bantering skills following their initial run in, but had done so at the cost of her maturity.

"Ohh," she dramatically dragged, "I see. Well I'm sure being fashionably late for a date won't hurt. In fact, it might prove to be a turn on for a hot shot like yourself." _'Hmph! Chew on that one, jerk!'_

_'Who said anything about a date?' _"I imagine that was the illogic you used last Saturday."

_'Sarcasm be damned..' _"Why you--"

Suddenly he spotted a silver car at the end of the street. Squinting, he saw a blonde driver with a cell phone held to her ear. "Is that you by the corner?"

"Yeah," was the answer, and he saw her head rotate from side to side, asking, "You can see me?"

_'I wouldn't have asked if I hadn't.' _"I'm not going to answer that. I'll be out in a second." With that, he hung up on her.

Reentering his house and going downstairs his trail of thought deflected in an about-face. _'She's here. Is she going to come in? What if she does? What if she thinks the place is a mess?' _His rambling thoughts were decidedly stupid as he took a look around the living room. He had spent the past hour cleaning and making sure everything was spotless. _'She'll see that it's clean. Wait.. is it possibly too clean?'_

Too clean was just as bad as a mess. If it was a mess, he was the typical sloth of a male. If it was too clean, he'd be open to some crack about how his heterosexuality was questionable. He couldn't risk either of those things in front of Serena. Call it paranoia but he had the distinct feeling she'd never let him live it down.

Panic had him searching desperately for something to disarray. _'Something.. anything! Quick, must throw something, must spill--'_

Like the genius he was he threw whatever he'd picked up in his hand onto the ground. He heard liquid sloshing into carpet and finally looked at what he'd done.

_'Nope, water doesn't stain.' _His face went awry at his ground-breaking conclusion. "It's official. I'm an idiot."

Outside he heard a car door slam. "Damn!" he cursed, moving toward the door. Unfortunately he stepped right into the wet spot and soaked his socks.

Serena was too steamed to call him back. _'And what's the point? I'm going to see the cad soon enough. Wouldn't want to come off as eager to see him of all people!'_ So she spent her excess energy reading mailbox numbers until she found the one that matched Darien's address.

As she pulled into the antique brick paved driveway, she secretly hoped to find Darien's home a hideous structure. In keeping with that infamous lucky streak of hers when it came to wishing the man ill, she was wrong, gaping at the sight that awaited her.

It was a mini Italian Tuscany villa colored a smooth hue of copper with a roof of red shingles. The two-story home was illuminated with a yellow light that shone through the numerous side-by-side windows. Facing her was an open patio supported by columns and protected behind them were thick mahogany doors. She sighed, exasperated. _'Of course he has a dream house.'_

Opening her car door she acknowledged the Maserati GranSport on her left. _'How vain. The man just had to have a car the same Mediterranean blue as his eyes.' _She made a disgusted sound at the compact convertible.

_Rrrring! Rrrring!_

"Look," Serena said upon picking up, "I just parked so give me a minute will you?"

"And exactly where is it that you're parked?" a feminine voice asked.

Furrowing her brow, she mentally filtered through her list of friends. "Mina?!" she guessed.

"That's my name. Oh Ren," she said without pause, her voice changing into a high-pitched whine, "I'm having a career crisis! I don't know what--how to fix it and.. I'm distressed!"

Calmly, Serena picked the copy of the script up and climbed out of her car. "That makes the both of us," she replied, slamming her car door shut.

Despite knowing that her friend was statedly parked somewhere and that she had audibly gotten out of her car Mina went on. "I wouldn't even be in this position if it weren't for Victoria being such a damn prima donna. She came to my office screeching at me, demanding more money essentially and.." While Mina's story unfolded, Serena leaned lazily against her car, choosing not to interrupt. _'There's nothing wrong with putting the inevitable off for two minutes. It's impossible to stop Mina from blabbing anyway.'_

In the meanwhile, Darien was busy trying to sort himself out inside. He stripped his socks off, cleaning the fuzzy lint between his toes away and jogged all the way upstairs to throw them in the hamper. Bringing a hand towel with him on his descent downstairs, he quickly worked at the carpet, mumbling something along the lines of, "I'm getting about as blonde as Serena."

The aforementioned blonde had just finished gathering the gist of information Mina was blubbering about. Comfort, her new clothing line, was scheduled to hit billboards and magazine ads within the week until her supercilious model began asking for a few thousand more dollars than what she signed on for. Obviously Mina rejected the idea, not because she lacked the proper funds but because Victoria had a pattern of squeezing for more out of her employer each time a new line came out.

"So she quit?" Serena asked, summarizing twenty second's worth of story.

"Yeah," Mina spat hatefully, not noticing what Serena had done.

"What about her contract?"

"It doesn't end until this November, which, granted, is only six months away, but because I didn't want to deal with her, her agent or her lawyers, I let her."

"You did what?" Serena exclaimed.

"I let her," Mina repeated. "I said that I wasn't going to give her any compensation for quitting right before the line came out, though. Since her face hasn't shown up with Comfort, she doesn't have much to go on for commission claims. In the end we compromised. I let her keep the money I already gave her and she walked away without slapping me with legal trouble."

"The woes of legit shit," Serena added, shaking her head.

"Oh, I can't keep talking about it so impersonally. What are you doing tomorrow?"

Serena stifled a laugh, knowing that it would come to this. Honestly, she sighed, any other person would've hung up after hearing her long and drawn out narration with the typical Mina dramatics. _'She wouldn't have lasted a minute with Rei.' _But unlike with Rei, the fashion designer had a decade-long history with the ex-supermodel and was thus allowed to treat her like a psychotherapist whenever she so desired.

"Okay Mina, clear your morning schedule and we'll find something to do," she said, climbing up the brick steps to the patio, "But right now I've got to get going, talk to you later."

She hung up without reply--biting her lip for doing such a Darien-like thing to Mina--and confronted the door with three steps. _'He's probably still doing his hair..' _In a decisive move she tried the handle, leaning with her weight into it.

When Darien's task was accomplished he threw the towel by the kitchen sink as he passed and took one more disdainful look at his living room. He strolled to the door, resolving to meet the blonde outside. _'She's probably still in her car..' _he mused, placing his hand on the handle and--

Serena pushed.

Darien pulled.

Serena flung forth, not expecting the help coming from the other side of the door. She was lost in overloaded momentum until gravity kicked in. With a cry she flew forward.

Darien saw it happening like a slow motion movie scene. _'So this is one of those out-of-body experiences Andrew was telling me about. Too bad Serena can't see her face right now!' _A pregnant pause later, time sped up and before he could move or gallantly step aside, she was coming at him.

A grunt came from him as they crashed, his legs straining to keep them from toppling over. He was able to keep them upright, yet the sound of floating pages meant he hadn't entirely prevented the collision from causing damage. _'Damn.'_

Everything happened way too fast for Serena. One second she felt secure on her own two feet and in the next two she was flying. Then she flung face-first into Darien's chest. There was no chance to think or feel any kind of repulsion at the contact. At least there wasn't before his arms innocently encircled her to steady her--them. Discernment hit her then, pulsing through her veins. _'Nice and warm..?! GAG!'_

_'Nice and soft..?! HELL NO!' _Darien barely noticed Serena jump back as if burned because his reaction was to do the same. Finding himself guilty for thinking such thoughts about the blonde he raised his hands in surrender. Like she had been reading his mind, she mirrored his pose.

For a second he stared at her, face twisted in shock and a pout, as though she had been caught with her hand in the illustrious forbidden cookie jar. Could she have been feeling guilt as well? If so, _'was she thinking the same thing?' _His face started to heat up and disbelief crossed his mind. In one _very_ simple physical exchange Serena had actually gotten him to blush.

She had the faintest tinge of pink on her cheeks, her eyes widened into saucers. Refusing to maintain eye contact lest his face give away that he had also been staring at her full lips, he dropped his gaze from her flushed face and over her lithe body. A white seamless tee shirt under a sandblasted denim jacket and heather gray drawstring pants. She even had the Rocket Dog slides to boot, no pun intended. _'And she's still so damn appealing.'_

How a young woman like her showed up in extremely casual attire, hair pulled in a high ponytail, and attracted him more than any other woman who had come to him in a see-through dress was beyond him.

_'Quit checking her out and do something!' _He brought himself to look into her eyes again when he detected utter horror on her face. But she wasn't paying him any heed, she was blanching at the paper-covered carpet. "My script!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees and plucking at papers.

He gawked at how feverishly she grabbed at the fallen sheets as though her life depended on it. "Don't worry, it's not a big deal," he tried to reassure her, closing the door in case a draft came and blew the sheets further into his house.

Serena whipped her head around, glaring at him. "Yes, it is."

Darien lifted his hands in mock defeat again, saying, "Whoa, calm down. I'm sure that even though they'll be out of order they've got to be paginated somehow." He was tempted to add, "They're just papers," but sensed that would send her over the edge.

_'My work is scattered across the floor and he--oh yeah, he doesn't know.' _Serena blinked twice at him then went about picking the mixed pieces of her work up. From the corner of her eye she saw Darien get on his haunches and start his own collection. She was surprised but decided not to say anything and for the duration of the paper-gathering the two worked without further exchange.

When they finished and stood, he moved to hand his stack over to her when he paused. He had the oddest expression on his face and finally she heard him say, "You're bleeding!"

She looked down at her hands, noticing for the first time the blood running over her knuckles. _'Must've been from when I punched my steering wheel.' _"Oh," she mumbled, "That."

"That's it?" Darien demanded incredulously. '_A seemingly vulnerable ex-supermodel shows up at my door with a bloody fist and I'm _not_ supposed to be alarmed?' _"What the hell happened?" he bit out.

"Nothing," the blonde said, not meeting his gaze.

"Lies."

She glared at him. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is," he spat, mimicking the vehemence with which she said the very same words not more than ten minutes ago.

She cocked her eyebrow at his response, causing him to reassess it himself. Maybe his concern had clouded his senses. Maybe he was too stunned to see her physically hurt. All he knew was that a part of him was angry and.. _'Protective?' _He shook his head but his mind insisted on arguing. _'She might have gotten into trouble on the way over here, trying to see me.'_

"If you really want to know," she flared, "I hit my steering wheel."

He didn't see that one coming. "Why?" he asked, puzzled.

"I was having a bad day," she stated pleasantly, shooting him a hard glance.

_'And here I was, thinking she wasn't the cause of her own problems.' _Before he could refrain he blurted, "Sit down."

She crossed her arms and didn't budge. "Why?"

"Sit."

"No."

"Stop trying to be impossible!" he roared. _'God, I'm losing my mind!'_

"Make me!" Serena bellowed back. _'Damn this! I feel like I'm mentally degrading by the second! My mind is reverting back into a little child's the more time I spend with this man!' _Fed up with her thoughts and the fight that would ensue if she stayed, she slipped her wedges off and stomped into his living room, not caring if he followed her. Which he did.

Darien watched her waltz off and trailed after her, waiting until she claimed a spot on his taupe sectional couch to approach her. Handing her his handful of papers he said, "Here's something to do until I come back." She hmph'd, taking his 'gift', and began to file the script in numerical order. Satisfied, he took off in search for his first aid kit.

He stepped back into the laundry room, lifting a three foot gate off its hinge and stepping in. _'I know it's in here somewhere..' _With that thought he began his search, too preoccupied to see a little creature scampering past the open barrier.

Serena was relieved to find that most of the pages were kept in order and that Darien's stack was already filed. _'Wow, Ren, doesn't he deserve an award.' _She rolled her eyes. Sarcasm was oozing into her thoughts.

She tapped the sides of the stacks to make the script look uniform and her eyes rested on the cover page. "Untitled," she read aloud. Written by Serena Laraway. She frowned at the sight of her name. _'When Darien sees this he'll never be able to take this screenplay seriously.'_

Instinctively she folded the page and tucked it into the pocket of her jean jacket. _'Wouldn't want him to quit just because he hates me.'_

A bark at her feet broke her gaze and she looked down to face a most adorable Yorkshire Terrier. Judging from its shiny black and tan coat and excitedly wagging tail, she figured it was just a puppy. Most of its body was clothed in tiny baby blue pajamas. Further examination revealed a small embroidered sleeve that said 'Daddy's Little Girl'.

'_Careful, Ren, she's a spy, so don't fall for--aww.' _She melted at the way the pup bucked on it hind legs and barked for her to pick her up.

Eventually, she caved. "Come on, baby girl," she cooed, setting the script aside and bending over to pick the attention-demanding creature up. She chuckled as the puppy licked her jaw and tried to provide as much comfort as she could while the dog cuddled into her lap.

"Let's take a look at your name," she said, petting and slowly nudging the dog tag on her leash forward. "J'aime?" she read aloud, "What an odd name."

"It's Jaime," a voice corrected. Serena turned, her scrutinizing eyes taking Darien's appearance in for the first time. Those tan slacks barely hid his well-toned legs. A white muscle tank didn't do the job for his chest either, but at least his fit upper body was also covered with a black loose button-up. _'So he's in perfect shape. Like I care.'_

He sauntered over to her, a first aid kit in his hands. "They made a typo on her tag," he explained, taking a seat by her. He set the kit aside, opening it and taking out a few antiseptic wipes. When he was good to go he motioned with his hand and she gave him hers.

She flinched when he wiped at the open skin but was genuinely astonished by how gentle he was. Her muscles automatically relaxed and she mumbled, "J'aime means "I love" in French."

He nodded, rubbing some Neosporin on her knuckles and pulling two bandages out. "So that's where you were this entire time," he said.

It was a statement, not a question, and so she nodded. "Paris."

"For what?"

_'Love.'_ "School. Freedom. Happiness."

"Don't freedom and happiness go hand in hand?"

"Not always. Aren't you happy to be trapped in your coveted celebrity life?"

"Point taken." They lapsed into silence, Darien finishing off her hand and cleaning up. _'This is weird. We should be fighting.' _Even as he thought those thoughts he decided what he was going to say. "I'm surprised that Jaime's taken a liking to you. She doesn't usually want strange women to pet or hold her and barks until they leave."

_'How self-incriminating.' _"So I'm the first of what, a hundred?"

He was going to retort when he saw her looking down at a sleeping Jaime, smiling despite herself.

"Actually--"

_Rrrring! Rrrring!_

Serena offered an apologetic glance before flipping her cell phone over. "Can't this wait?"

"Is that any way to talk to your mother, Serena?"

The blonde choked on herself, waking the pup in her lap. Darien reached over and patted her on the back. Finding her voice again, she asked, "Mom?"

Darien watched as Serena's eyes widened at the word. He could hear what her mother said to her and silently snickered. _'She has more expressions than a mime.'_

For all his taunting his eyes widened, too, in comprehension. _'She's talking to Emilie Laraway. _The _Emilie Laraway!'_

"Yes."

"I'm sorry! I thought you were Mina," came the explanation.

"You should really look at your caller ID so that next time you'll know who you're addressing."

"Agh! I said sorry," she said rather sheepishly, her cheeks turning pink.

"You should be sorry! When was the last time you thought to call me or your father?"

"Ahh--"

"That's right, three years ago. Before you left for heaven-knows-where. Where have you been, Serena?"

Darien had to admit, the way her mother said Serena's name was very.. sexy. _'Oh admit it to yourself already! The woman is insufferably gorgeous.'_

"Mom! I can't exactly talk right now. I'm in the middle of an important meeting." Serena silently thanked Darien for not saying anything because she was feeling dismayed at the thought of talking to her mother to begin with. Her tone of voice must have upset Jaime and before she knew it, the dog barked.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Jaime started to pounce at her cell phone, thinking it the cause of Serena's mood change. The blonde tried to move away but the puppy was persistent. Darien knew that he had to stop his pet before she went ballistic and he automatically said, "Jaime, no! Sit!"

"Is that a man's voice I hear?"

"Nothing!" Serena immediately said. She smacked her head and the blush crept down her neck to the top of her chest. _'Cute.'_

"I-I mean.. I'vegottogoMombye!"

"Serena!" Her voice was so loud that the blonde had to pull the earpiece away. Once recovered, she placed it against her head and reluctantly asked, "Yes?"

"I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow."

Irritation suddenly broke out from her face. "Mo-om!"

"Goodbye, my love," the voice on the other line endeared, followed by the dial tone.

_'I alread__y promised my morning to Mina.' _Serena closed the phone, staring at it blankly. _'Noooo!'_

Darien's chuckling brought her back to the situation at hand. Which was her, sitting next to him, after a conversation with her estranged mother. If she had any indication that she had turned pink during the mother-daughter talk ten seconds ago, she was certain she was positively red by now.

"What's so funny?" she asked, pouting.

"What? Oh, nothing, _my love_." _'Oh god!' _Darien meant to mock her mother's tone in saying that, but somehow it got twisted in with his good humor--and thoughts of attraction--and wound up sounding majorly seductive! Trying to salvage the situation with a cover-up joke he found himself speechless and turning as red as Serena was. _'I think karma just kicked my ass.'_

Despite his fear Serena was too wrapped up in her double-booking problem to assume he sounded anything but hostile. "Ha, ha. Well I really should get going, unless there are any questions you have."

_'Phew!' _"Umm," he coughed, "Yeah."

"Well?"

"Who else did you decide on?"

"Drew got the supporting male role, Reika Matthews is the supporting female role and love interest for both you and Drew. And for the female lead, who is your other love interest, I decided on Natalie Bridges."

Darien couldn't help but groan. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Serena gave him the same irritated look she had when she was talking to her mother. "I thought you'd be glad that you'd be getting to work with a quote-unquote hot chick."

"I'm not."

She had to give him credit for not denying that Natalie was hot. "Well then I don't understand. She's good-looking--"

"--with no brains--"

"--popular--"

"--in a slutty sense--"

"--and talented."

"--she's completely lacking."

"Then she's completely your type," She finished with a smirk.

"_My_ type?" Darien seethed. _'Who does she think she is? And why does it matter who she thinks I am?' _It bugged him to no end that she thought the worst of him and he couldn't feel the same.

Serena stood up, satisfied that she had stunned him, and handed the almost-forgotten Jaime over. "Thanks for this," she muttered, raising her hand and walking herself out.

_'Why does she--wait, she's leaving.' _Determined to speak his mind he followed her. He closed the door after Jaime and could hear her yipping, wanting to come along. _'Sorry, girl, but Serena's mine.' _Ignoring the suggestive tone of thought, he called out, "Serena."

She shivered, wondering again why the sound of her name sounded so pleasant when he said it. Turning, she saw him standing a few feet in front of her car, eyes only for her.

Three things had not gone unnoticed. One, he was barefoot. Two, his hair wasn't done. Three, the light behind him cast a shadow over his eyes. These three things could have seemed like nothing, had she been immune to the concept of hot, sexy men.

Darien was barefoot, yes, barefoot in front of a beautiful villa that must have come from a romantic fantasy world. His locks were undone, so when the wind picked up it lightly caressed them, curling the raven ends like a cherub's and the flickering shadows over his eyes were tantalizing the wits out of her, lighting up and then darkening into a blue haze.

Her mouth went dry. It was the perfect Harlequin novel cover.

He smiled, as if reading right through her, then slowly, deliberately, his mouth parted to say five words. "I'm not just a face."

Her response was to get in her car, pull out of his driveway and speed away. _'Why am I shaking? Is it because of him?'_

She lifted her hand to her face, remembering how he had tenderly held her hand and took care of it. _'Why did he have to be so nice? Oh god, what is happening to me?'_

Using her rearview mirror she took one last peek at him. He looked so at ease right then that Serena was sure she wouldn't be able to picture the place as a home without him in front of it.

Darien watched her leave, but not before seeing a glow he'd previously never seen in her eyes. For some reason, it made him think that maybe there was more to Serena Laraway than an ex-supermodel or a daughter of a celebrity. Maybe there was something more. That, he wanted to see.

He stood there until her car turned off his street, her lovely face embedded in his head. _'I'm going to make this work.'_

* * *

Serena sighed, closing the door of her condo behind her and resting against it. She'd just had breakfast with her parents. At seven in the morning! Emilie called her at six-thirty just to wake her up. "Mo-om," Serena gruffed, hoping her childlike voice would work. 

"Serena Catherine Laraway, GET UP THIS INSTANT!"

She sat up, itching to yell back, "Okay, Rei!"

A half hour later found her dragged out of bed and sitting solemnly under two intense pair of eyes, shooting questions at her like a street fighter showdown. She swear she heard "Why did we hear about our daughter coming home through a magazine cover?" and "Did you call your agent yet?" more than twice.

About point-two-five seconds were spent on acknowledging her college degree before asking about _him_. This she refused to elaborate on and had only said, "We're not together anymore. And I know you both are happy to hear that, so don't bother."

Rather than stay on the subject and stare at her parents' astonished faces, she brought up her plans with Brandon. As expected they chastised her for taking advantage of Brandon's funding and were put off to hear that she wasn't planning on modeling anymore.

"Ren, why are you planning out self-destruction?"

"Papa, I'm planning nothing of the sort! Although you may be on to something."

Her parents leaned in, expecting her to elaborate.

"I suppose one would have to be some sort of masochist to work with Darien Scott."

"You're going to be working with Darien Scott?" Emilie gushed.

"Who's that?" Michael asked, buttering his toast.

"He's new," Emilie explained.

"Oh."

"Is that who you were with last night?"

"Serena?!" her father bellowed, dropping his toast back on his plate.

"Mom! You're going to send him into cardiac arrest! Sit down, Papa, it's not like that and yes, I was there last night, but only because I had to give him the copy of the script."

"Is he cuter in person?"

"Em.." Michael said gruffly.

"Desolée. Is Darien Scott cuter than your father?"

"Stop talking about him like he's some brand label! Darien is a nosy, arrogant jerk."

"Then he's completely your type!"

Things went downhill after that, with Serena leaving 'early' at nine. They gave her stern looks until she mentioned that Mina was going through a crisis. Understanding Mina's nature--they were accustomed to it after ten years, they let her go and here she was, worn and high-strung at the same time. Not peeling herself from her door she opened her cell phone and went to speed dial number two.

"Hello?" Mina chirped.

"Let's box."

* * *

Darien woke up to a call at eight in the morning. It was, of course, Andrew. 

"Ready to grab breakfast?"

"Mm-hmph."

"What was that?"

"Code for please die."

"Meh. WAKE UP!"

That jolted Darien to sit upright and slide out of bed. By the time he met Andrew at his favorite country club he was ready for their typical morning routine, eat and get through another workout.

At ten they were leaving the weight room and entering the boxing room. "You want to start with this?" Andrew asked, motioning at a seventy-pound punching bag.

Darien nodded, slipping his other hand into a glove and closing it.

He wore out after twenty minutes, the black leather losing a little of its plumpness in a small rounded spot. He signaled for Andrew to switch so that he would hold the bag while Andrew wreaked havoc on it.

Usually, this exercise took a lot of energy and the two would do this without conversation. However, last night was the first thing on Darien's mind since he had woken up and since beating a piece of leather into submission wasn't getting it off his chest, he cleared his throat and spoke up. "Serena dropped by yesterday."

Andrew's punch landed off-center. "What for?" he asked, continuing.

It hit Darien that Andrew didn't even know that they were going to be working with each other, much less that Serena had swung by to give him the script. So for the next ten minutes he recounted the events of last night, the unexpected phone call, the visit and the fights that sparked in between.

"The only thing I didn't seem to get is why she came back to L.A. so willingly, but I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Andrew looked up at him then, forgetting the punching bag for a brief moment. "You do remember that I said Ren is pretty much a cousin to me."

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't want to see her get hurt, and I'm not just talking in the public sense. I mean actually hurt."

"I think that that's already happened."

Andrew eyed him skeptically. "What are you saying, Darien?"

"There's a reason she's come back and I don't think it was just for filmmaking."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can see it in her eyes, this sense of longing and sadness." Too late to take it back, he realized, what he had said made Andrew's brow raise even higher. "Can't you?"

The blonde stared intently at him. Ever so slowly the corners of his mouth began to lift until he was grinning like an idiot. "Is my cousin beginning to become a soft spot for the untouchable Darien Scott--oomph!"

His sentence was cut short by a jab pounding into his nose.

Darien saw his friend go down and was shocked to find two glaring blondes in his stead. One he immediately recognized as Serena, the other took him a second. After disbelief had crossed him, he took a double take. _'No way.'_

Andrew stood up, relieved that his nose wasn't broken or bleeding but frankly pissed at whoever had come out of nowhere and punched him. As he stood up, grabbing at Darien's arm, he regained his balance and recognized the two additions to the room. "Mina!" he exclaimed, wanted to run her over with a hug.

He was stopped by the look on her face. "You must think you are too good to be seen with me, Andrew Logan," she said, her nose flaring.

Serena sweatdropped at her friend's haughty attitude. She punched him and still had the audacity to be cruel. Then again it was Andrew, a man who had about as much common sense as a tree stump. To reaffirm this he grinned and said, "No, I just forgot your birthday."

Serena would've punched him if Mina hadn't beaten her to it again.

"Ow! What was that for?" Andrew yelped, leaving the steadying to Darien.

"That was for missing my birthday. This," Mina said, swinging at his stomach, "is for forgetting."

Too bad Mina hadn't seen Andrew dodge her at the last minute, otherwise her fist wouldn't have connected with Darien's stomach.

Serena watched as not one but two men fell to the floor and one woman clamped her hand over her mouth, horrified. "D-did I just punch a stranger?"

"No, Mina," Serena uttered, poleaxed, "You just punched Darien Scott!"

* * *

**End Part Two. The Visit.**

**

* * *

**

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part Three. The Reunion.

"Mina!" Serena hissed, "Don't invite him!"

"Why not, Ren?!" Mina Rei, Lita and even Ami demanded.

"Yeah, why not, Ren?" Andrew echoed, a teasing glimmer in his eyes.

Darien smiled, watching her jaw drop in surprise. "They have a point, _Ren_."

Her cheeks turned bright pink at the sound of her nickname coming from his pouty lips. _'Ack! Stop thinking like that!'_ She stomped away, yelling, "Traitors!"

Darien watched her friends grin at each other and gave them one of his own. "I think I like you guys."


	4. part three

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Announcements:** I don't know why, but this chapter took forever to finish. This one's dedicated to **aprileagle**, a very talented and captivating author. Her stories "World in Fragments" and "Home" were one of the first two fanfics I read and were consequently one of the first two fanfics that got me addicted to reading and writing them. I owe her thanks for the inspiration I got from her fics. 

As always, thanks to those who reviewed. **Sunny38**, **x Such Great Heights x**-3, **nancy n**-2, **serenity11287**-3, **kireisnowtenshi**, **ChieriAn9eL**-2, **fireangel621**, **raye85**-2, **ffgirlmoonie**-3 and **supersaiyanx**-3. The stats are--over 2000 hits, 12 favorite lists, and 29 alerts. Whoot!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Three. The Reunion.  
****_"Where _did_ you find this sweaty hunk of a man, Ren?_****_"_**

* * *

If Serena were given a penny for every time something happened that left her shell-shocked in the span of her lifetime, she wouldn't have had to model for ten years to save up for college. She would've been a millionaire. Okay, a billionaire. 

As it was, she stood there, stunned that Mina had actually done what _she_ had wanted to do since the moment she met Darien Scott--punch him in the gut. He was doubled over on a mat next to Andrew, clutching at his stomach and wincing.

"Mina!" Andrew exclaimed, horrified that his friend had been attacked because of him. Oh yes, he was scared, of Darien and especially Mina. Darien pissed, he could handle. An angry, hormonal young woman who just happened to be an ex-girlfriend, he couldn't take on or hit back. He looked desperately at Serena, begging her with his eyes to rebuke her.

"Good jab, Mina," Serena said at last.

"Ren!"

"Thanks," Mina smiled despite feeling guilty.

Jaws dropped, but that didn't stop Serena from continuing coolly. "Have you been practicing?"

"You noticed?"

"Excuse me!" Darien exclaimed, starting to pick himself up from the ground. "What the hell are you two thinking?!" he wanted to demand but it came out as, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your beautiful friend, Serena?"

"Beautiful?" Mina asked, her eyes shining.

"Don't insult her," Serena hissed.

"I was doing no such thing. I really do want to know your friend's name, after all," Darien said, gritting half the words through his teeth. _'Even if I try to be pleasant she has to shut me down.'_

"Don't mind Ren, she's a femme-Nazi," Mina offered after recovering from his compliment. She extended her hand and beamed another smile. "I prefer to introduce myself anyway. I'm Mina Bellamy, ex-supermodel and owner and designer of the Mina Bellamy collection."

Darien took her hand, impressed. _'Very confident.' _He could tell by the introduction and the skin-tight leggings and sports bra. But even though she wore confidence to a tee, Serena had grabbed his full attention in baggy shorts and a sports tank. _'And that scowl she makes whenever I'm within fifteen feet of her.'_ "Darien Scott, actor and part-time nuisance."

Mina giggled, giving him an obvious onceover. Black mesh sweats, a white muscle tank and ruffled hair. Of course, she was pleased with what she saw. "Where _did_ you find this sweaty hunk of a man, Ren?"

Serena almost choked on herself. "I would've let you know if there were any in the room."

"I resent that," Andrew said, finally getting up. He, too, wore mesh sweats in forest green, but donned a white baggy tee instead of a tank. As he straightened himself he crossed his arms over his well-muscled chest and imitated a pout that resembled hers.

Both Serena and Andrew's comments were left unnoticed. "Did you just call her Ren?" Darien asked, nodding at the subject at hand.

Mina quickly glanced at Serena and smiled coyly. "Why, yes. You can, too."

"No you can't!" Serena said, stomping her foot. _'Can't she tell that I absolutely loathe the man?'_

"Like I said, don't mind her," Mina carried on carelessly, "She's not one for small talk or pleasantries."

"Don't I know what you mean," Darien said and grinned at the simmering woman. "Well it's nice to finally meet a friend of Ren's that doesn't lack manners."

"Hey!" Serena and Andrew yelped in unison.

_'Who does he think he is? Trying to sweet talk _my_ friend to get her on his side!' _"I'll show you manners!" Serena shot back, swinging a gloved fist at Darien.

He had quick enough reflexes to step to the side, but her fist still caught his shoulder, pushing him off balance and into Mina. The two stumbled and crashed to the ground.

Andrew laughed.

_'Justice is served! Oh_ god_, Mina!'_ Serena heard Mina cry out, rolling onto her hands and knees and starting to get up.

"Serena.. Catherine.. LARAWAY!"

"Eep!" Serena replied, watching Mina charge at her. _'This is going to be painful.. hmm, she's pretty fast.' _It could have been nerves or her bones compressing into mush, but like magic her heart dropped and her body followed suit.

Mina missed, but she tripped on Serena's stomach, launching into Andrew. The two toppled over Serena, pinning her to the ground.

"Mina!" Andrew yelled.

"Heh, oops!"

"Guys! Get.. _off_!" Serena screeched. The two struggled to but proved just how blonde they were by entangling themselves even more.

"Is that your foot?" Andrew asked.

Mina looked up. "Me?"

"No."

"Her?"

"Yes.. No. No wait.. No."

"What?!" Mina and Serena bellowed.

"Ahh.. I don't know!"

"Drew, you are impossible!" Serena cried, burying her face into the mat. _'Idiot!' _A distinct laugh got her attention and she lifted her head to come face-to-face with a smug Darien on his haunches. _'Asshole!' _"Happy now?"

He was having too much fun watching this. _'Always count on blondes to give great comic relief.' _He had let go of a laugh and, leaning over, waited for Serena to look up. When she did, his breath caught in his throat. Below her enraged face was a flash of her cleavage, full and flushed against the mat. He had to force himself to exhale. _'Keep breathing, damn it! Now what was I doing? Oh yes, seeking revenge for pushing me. Hmm, I wonder if I can make her--'_

Serena saw the corners of his mouth lift into a familiar, seductive expression. "Ecstatic, now that I'm at the right angle."

Her face burst into flames, the fire spreading throughout her body at the sound of Mina and Andrew snickering. _'Noooo!'_

_'Success!' _He smiled at the effect he had on her and straightened up. He had planned to walk away in a suave kind of manner but suddenly felt something clutch onto him.

_'Not so fast!' _It took her a moment but she was able to slip her hand out of her glove and from the mess that was Mina and Andrew, and grab his ankle. Hyperextending her neck she caught his eye and said, "Eat mat!"

The original idea was to have him sprawled on the floor in front of her so she could see her accomplishment in all its glory. Instead, he fell forward and right on top of the human pile.

"Ren!" the three of them blasted.

"What? You're the ones that are crushing me," she muttered, thinking her rib cage was going to collapse at any minute.

Feeling bad at hearing that, Mina started to shuffle around, which only pressed Darien's body onto Serena's. "Mina," she choked, "Stop!"

"Why?"

_'Because you're rubbing that sweaty hunk of man all over me!' _"I'm getting a wedgie."

"I can see that," Darien mumbled, his face shoved right by her rear.

"Shut up!"

"Ow! You kicked my head, Ren!"

"Sorry," she said, twisting to try and face Andrew when her other leg automatically lifted.

"Damn it, Ren, you kicked mine, too!" Mina complained.

"Argh!"

"Mina! Ren! What the hell?" The new voice came from across the room. The four stopped and looked up toward the entrance. Serena recognized them immediately. "Ami, Lita.. Rei?"

Sure enough, the rest of the party team had arrived. Lita was looking fabulous in a yellow sundress, Rei in a lavender tube dress and Ami in the usual gray skirt suit. They obviously had not come here for the same reason as she and Mina. Which made her wonder.. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hmph!" Rei said, looking disdainful at the sight in front of her. "Mina called me about some sort of emergency."

"So Rei called me," Lita added.

"And Lita called me," Ami finished.

Serena nodded, understanding in her eyes. Classic Mina. When she had a problem she wouldn't have stopped with Serena, she would've called on the whole crew.

"Is this what you needed our help for, Mina?" Rei flared, her temper starting to show, "Because this looks more like an orgy than a crisis."

Darien's eyes flew toward Andrew's. "Orgy?" they asked simultaneously.

"Andrew?" Lita asked, astonished to find the blonde man twisted in the mess.

"Lita?"

"Lita? As in Melita Cunningham?" Darien asked incredulously, whirling around and inadvertently kicking Serena in the shoulder blade.

"Ow!"

"Darien Scott?!" Lita exclaimed breathlessly, temporarily forgetting about Andrew.

"Ack! It _is_ Darien Scott!" Rei shrieked, hearts practically dancing in her eyes.

"And you must be Rei Hino," Darien mused, giving her a dashing smile.

Serena rolled her eyes. _'My celebrity friends, starstruck. Hell must've frozen over.' _"I think we've established names, now get off me, damn it!"

The four scrambled to their feet, Serena the last one. Before she could make one last futile attempt to see if at least Ami was still on her side the blue-haired one said, "Actually, you forgot about me, Ren."

Serena was tempted to give her friend a glare but the meek smile on her face showed she was genuinely insulted. "Ah, gomen nasai. Ami, this is Darien Scott, the actor who's going to be playing the male lead in m--um, the screenplay Brandon's going to direct. Darien, this is Dr. Ami Jones."

_'Did she just apologize in Japanese?'_ Darien realized that the blonde had introduced the two only out of respect for her doctor-friend. Still, it was satisfying to hear her call him by his name. As he watched the women's eyes glint with understanding and nod, he felt compelled to tease her again. "Ren, friends with a doctor? How did _that_ happen?"

Serena's jaw unhinged as Ami actually smiled and burst into giggles. On cue, the others joined in. _'Ugh! What is it about that insufferable man that turns even the most shy--and married!--women into mush?'_

Of the group, Lita was the first to catch her breath. "Where _did_ you find this sweaty hunk of a man, Ren?"

"I swear, if one more person asks me that--"

"You might just have to tell them about our graceful interlude," Darien finished, winking. She blushed--that sort of thing never ceased to amuse and intrigue him. And obviously, he was not the only one startled.

The others were shocked to see Serena redden at the little comments the extremely hot Darien Scott passed at her. They, including Andrew, had already picked up on the fact that Serena hadn't referred to the screenplay as her own, meaning she didn't want that mentioned in his presence. But why all the secrecy on her part and the downright flirty teasing on his part? They were determined to find out.

"Why you--"

"So boys," Lita interrupted, refusing to let Serena ruin the moment, "What are you up to today?"

Darien shrugged, Andrew imitating. Rei beamed. "Then how about escorting us ladies to lunch?"

"I would love to--"

Serena glared at the raven-haired man, stopping him dead in his verbal tracks. "Actually, Andrew and Darien just received the script for Brandon's screenplay, so I'd prefer if they started looking them over--"

"Oh, Ren, you're not their boss, you know?" Mina nagged. Her eyes came to rest on Darien again, roaming all over his muscled body. A fine male specimen indeed. But she was more intrigued with the connection between him and her friend to acknowledge him as a seducible guy.

She knew from the moment Serena approached her at her birthday bash that something terrible had happened to her. It was written all over her face, that blank stare and monotonous stance. There was no asking her about it, though, she knew that. When Serena wanted to keep a secret she was able to do so, and Mina respected her privacy too much to blatantly interrogate her into some sort of confession.

Rarely was Serena ever caught speechless--she always had a load of rebuttals to any comment thrown her way. She always guarded herself. Yet Darien Scott rendered her speechless more than once since Mina had met him and passed through her new barriers as though they were merely stepping stones.

It seemed that Darien was Mina's last hope. She had come to witness that the man could get the impenetrable Serena Laraway to admit things she would normally not.

"If that is the case," Mina went on, "And you boys do have to look over your script, I'm sure you'll be done by eight, right?"

"Probably," Andrew said.

"Then be a dear and meet us at the Dark Rose at nine. You too, Darien."

"Mina!" Serena hissed, "Don't invite him!"

"Why not, Ren?!" Mina, Rei, Lita and even Ami demanded.

"Yeah, why not, Ren?" Andrew echoed, a teasing glimmer in his eyes.

Darien smiled, watching her jaw drop in surprise. "They have a point, _Ren_."

Her cheeks turned bright pink at the sound of her nickname coming from his pouty lips. _'Ack! Stop thinking like that!'_ She stomped away, yelling, "Traitors!"

Darien watched her friends grin at each other and gave them one of his own. "I think I like you guys."

* * *

An hour later, a fuming Serena sat with her four friends on the deck by Ami's outdoor pool. Thankful that the cushioned patio set had an umbrella to shade her, she took a sip of her pink lemonade before digging into some tossed salad. 

"Honestly, Ren, I haven't seen you like this since you were thirteen," Mina noted.

"Like what?" she asked, feigning nonchalance while stabbing viciously at her plate.

"Paranoid. As if the whole world was against you."

"I wouldn't call it paranoia if my friends _really were_ fawning over that horrid man."

"Ahh, so that's what this is about," Rei said knowingly.

"Don't play innocent with me," Serena snapped, "You could've filled Ami's pool with the amount of drool that was coming off your face!"

"Whoa, Ren, easy with the hostility," Lita piped defensively, "Care to explain why Darien Scott is such a sore spot for you?"

As soon as the question came out, Ami, Mina, Rei and Lita dropped their forks and leaned forward. It reminded Serena of the night at the hotel, friends waiting in anticipation to hear her news. Only this question made her cheeks turn the lightest shade of pink.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play innocent," Rei rubbed in her face. Serena wanted to retort but Lita's stern look stopped her. "You hate Darien and we want to know why," she said.

Sighing, Serena told them the five-minute story of how she and Darien first met, how Brandon wanted him in her screenplay, how she dropped by to give him her script. When she was all done she looked up expectantly at her friends. Mina was the first to burst in laughter.

"I fail to see the humor in this," Serena said once she knew her voice could be heard over the chuckling.

"Oh, Ren," Ami sighed.

Rei added to that. "You are completely ridiculous."

"How so?"

"You are begrudging one of the currently most famous actors over a vanilla bean frappuccino?"

".."

And just like that, Serena cracked and joined them in laughter. When she sobered, she said, "Well, when you put it like that.."

At that moment an astounded Darien set his script down on Andrew's coffee table. Andrew, sensing something was amiss, asked, "What's wrong, man?"

Darien looked at him blankly, then answered. "Nothing. This script is.. well.."

Andrew, fearing his friend would only criticize Serena's work, said, "Well I liked it."

"Are you kidding me? This is the most amazing script I've ever read."

Andrew nodded in defeat, then shook his head in confusion. "Come again?"

"Of all the screenplays I've read for or been in, this has the most intriguing dialogue."

"Intriguing?" Andrew could not believe his ears. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"I'm being serious, Andrew. But the sarcasm in this," Darien said, waving the script in his right hand, "is fantastic. It's genius. It reminds me of something.. or someone."

"It should," the blonde muttered, a smirk on his face.

"Sorry, what?"

"Nothing. So you really like it?"

Darien rubbed his chin, flipping through a few pages to refresh the witty lines in his mind. "Yeah. I'm going to have absolute fun acting this out." With a turn of his head he met Andrew's furtive smile with an oblivious one of his own.

"Good to hear it. Let's start with scene one."

* * *

At eight, Darien left Andrew's to get ready for the Dark Rose. In all honesty he felt nervous. No reason, just nervous. He didn't like the feeling. He hadn't felt that since his first film audition two years back. _'It couldn't be because of Ren, could it?'_

Quickly he discarded the thought. _'She doesn't even want me there.' _With a glum face, he readied himself in dark wash jeans, a gray muscle tank and a black button-up shirt. _'I'd have better luck striking a conversation with one of her friends than her.' _Grabbing the first pair of white Puma's he could find he shuffled out the door. _'Maybe she won't come?'_

He had been to the Dark Rose only once before but remembered where to go. He took the quickest route possible there and found himself inside the club within half an hour. In seconds girls' attentions were diverted and relocated to him. He was doing his best to subdue the crowd beginning to form around him when he spotted a familiar blue-haired woman at the bar.

Excusing himself he moved toward her. She didn't see him since her back was to him, ordering some colorful drink in an island glass. She, however, whirled around upon hearing him call out, "Dr. Jones."

"Ami will do just fine," she smiled, offering the empty seat next to her. Gladly he took it. "I'm surprised. You're early."

"You are, too," Darien replied and turned to order his drink. When that was accomplished, he returned to received her response.

"I have my reasons."

"Oh?"

"For one, I'm a doctor, not an actress. It didn't take me long to decide what to wear."

He quickly glanced at her dark red, silk and knee-length skirt, black stiletto boots, cream camisole and cropped denim jacket. "And yet you look amazing."

"Thanks."

"Of course. And for two?"

Ami took a sip of her drink. "For two, I'm a doctor, not an actress. I wait in line."

"Ah," Darien said, not knowing if he should let his wit handle that statement. _'I'd probably sound like a pompous jerk.'_

She giggled then, having read his face. The sound came as a relief and he found himself laughing with her. Sobering, he asked, "So how is it that Serena is friends with a doctor?"

"We met in college. I was starting my first year of graduate school and Ren, her first of college. Rei was visiting her at the dorms when we all bumped into each other. It was like fate planned the collision."

"You sound so resolved." Yes, he noticed that when talking about her friendship with Serena, Ami's confidence sky-rocketed. Those gray eyes of hers almost shimmered silver as she smiled and reminisced.

"Yes, if it wasn't for Ren, none of us would've stuck together."

Darien was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when Ren and Mina decided to end their modeling careers, Ren had one last show in her contract. There, she met Lita and, seeing that she needed a little improvement, she took Lita under her wing and introduced her to Mina as well."

"That would explain why Lita's become the newest leader in runway," Darien figured.

"Yes. Ren and Mina taught her the tricks of the trade. So you see, without Ren, Lita and Mina wouldn't have had become friends, Rei wouldn't have visited her and bumped into me and so on."

Darien nodded, the information a bit strange to him. Serena was the glue of the women's friendship. Because of her, four different and independent women were brought together. He took a swig of his drink, grunted.. snorted.. whatever noise he made, Ami heard it.

"What is it?" she asked, a little miffed.

"Nothing. It's just hard picturing Serena as the source of a strong female force."

Instead of being offended, Ami nodded. "It probably is now."

"Now?"

Ami hesitated, took a long sip of her drink and looked away. _'Cryptic.' _She avoided his gaze for a moment longer then turned to him. She looked like she was about to admit some tragic secret and felt guilty about it. In a hushed voice, she said, "Ren used to be all sunshine and flowers. Her spirit.. she was so vibrant, so capable of doing anything she wanted. And when she came back, she wasn't the same. Sometimes it's as if I'm staring at the ghost of what she used to be."

The bluenette's confession unnerved him. What she said confirmed what he had said to Andrew earlier that day. Serena, the annoyingly-witty albeit fascinating Serena Laraway, was a shadow of what she had been. "What happened?" he asked darkly.

"I think it has something to do with her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" _'Impossible!' _Darien couldn't picture Serena with a boyfriend. She was too.. too anti-male.

Ami opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly. Replacing her set jaw with a smile she looked over Darien's shoulder and greeted Rei, Lita and Andrew. Sighing, he spun around to do the same.

Andrew looked fit in stone washed jeans and a green button-up. Next to him, Lita donned a light rose button-up dress that hit her mid-thigh. Her matching rose earrings and pink satin kitten heels finished the look. Next to her, Rei stood in a gold-sequined contraption-of-a-dress with matching gold dangling earrings and slip-on sandals.

"You ladies look stunning," Darien offered, nodding at Andrew in acknowledgement.

"Don't I know it," the blonde added.

Rei feigned humility while Lita grinned vivaciously. Ami shook her head with a knowing smile. She looked up again in search of two missing blondes. "Where are--"

"Ren was ready an hour ago, but she offered to pick Mina up," Lita explained.

"Figures," Andrew tossed.

"I heard that," a voice came from behind them. In response the group turned and took Mina in. Her frilly orange dress bounced as she made a pose, white bangles and peep-toe heels adding to the mod sight. "Orange?" he heard one of the women choke next to him.

"Orange is the universal color. It goes with every skin tone," another voice said as its owner joined Mina.

Darien's breath caught at the sight of Serena in dark wash jeans, a silk, black babydoll tank and a lacy gray cardigan. His eyes roamed over her, from her loose, bedhead waves, to her black stud earrings, to her leather wristwatch, to her black eyelet espadrilles. "Beautiful," he murmured under his breath.

The comment went unnoticed. "The party animals have finally arrived," Andrew said, giving each blonde a warm hug. Suddenly he looked up and from Serena and Darien. "Was this staged?" he asked, motioning to how similar the two had dressed. Serena just smiled.

Though he tried, he couldn't keep his eyes off of Serena. She smiled warmly enough, but as she denied Andrew's suggestion and carried on and joked with her friends, he couldn't help looking at her differently. _'What happened to her?'_

His thoughts were interrupted by a call for a move in location, to the V.I.P. room. The group of seven reorganized themselves across the room where a woman awaited calls for drinks. Darien ordered a replacement for his drink, Ami followed suit, and the rest requested a mixture of new drinks.

The drinking and socializing went on for an hour. Darien noticed that Serena was quieter that Ami although she outdrank even Andrew. When a joke was made toward her, she again lifted her cheeks into a smile, but never added to it. More than once he caught her glancing at her watch and at other times, him.

At the end of that hour, he glanced over at her again. Their eyes clashed and locked, blue against blue in an all-consuming moment. Slowly, she lifted her chin. "Dance with me."

Not a question. Not a whispered plea. It lingered in the air until his legs brought him up and soon he found himself on the dance floor with what he had come to realize as an angel-temptress.

Serena, on the other hand, found the situation quite natural. After that afternoon's enlightening conversation with her friends she knew she had to let up on Darien. How she was to do that without squashing her pride stumped her until she mentioned dancing. It was a no-risk white-flag.

As she swayed her hips to the rhythm and worked him to the music, something else entered her mind. Someone else. _Him_ again.

Memories flashed. Feelings coursed through her veins, heating her skin. She turned to face her companion as the music faded and her eyelids fluttered wide open. She was met with hazel eyes, thick brown hair and a devastatingly beautiful grin.

"Beau.. Tu m'as manqué." And she kissed him.

Darien didn't know how to react while they were dancing. Serena's body was incredible to watch. He was honestly dumbstruck, hoping that whatever his own body was doing wasn't too embarrassing.

In an instant the song was over, and she was leaning dangerously close. Trying very hard to control himself, he waited until she opened her heavy-lidded eyes. Over his thundering heartbeat he heard her mumbled French and felt her lips brushed against his. And against his better judgment, he kissed her back.

Her mouth tasted like passion fruit, her sighs his undoing. He couldn't get enough, pressed tightly to her, liplocked and all. _'Enter very naughty thoughts.'_

A quick shove in the back separated the two and brought them back to their senses. Darien, having caught his breath, stared at Serena, hoping the look in his eyes wasn't scaring her as it was scaring him. _'What were we doing?!'_

_'Oh_ god!' Serena put a hand to her mouth, tracing her bottom lip at the spot where Darien's had been occupied seconds before. She gasped, realizing how turned on she had actually been. _'Not toward Darien! Just my imagination!' _"Sorry," she went on, flustered, "I thought you were someone else."

Darien looked drained as she said that. "You mean, the person you asked to dance with?"

"No, no, because that's you!" Serena cried. _'It's official. I'm an idiot!' _She moaned, wondering how well her words were going over with him.

_'She's not making any sense.' _Then it hit him. "Serena.. Are you drunk?"

She nodded. "Sloshed."

"Do you need to throw up?"

"No."

"Need to sit down?"

"Maybe."

Gently, he took her arm and led her to a less-crowded part of the club and sat her on a couch. Once they were situated, Serena rested her head along his arm, leaning whole-heartedly. "I meant to say sorry."

"Oh?" Darien asked. "For what?"

"I hate men," she spat, wrinkling her nose.

_'Does she know how cute she looks when she does that? Wait.. this is messed up. I meant to get on her good side, but.. what does this mean?' _He was busy engrossed in those thoughts that all he could really come up with was, "Oh?"

Serena sighed deeply. "No. I hate one, but it's not you. Did you know I used to have an Old English Sheepdog?"

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah. I named him Ruffles."

He had to stifle a good chortle. "Interesting name."

"Not really. I was eating Ruffles when I got him. In any case," she said, sighing once more, "Ruffles trained me to be a good owner. Dogs have an affinity for me now. That's probably why Jaime likes me."

Feigning interest wasn't too bad. This piece of information could always prove useful in the future. "That explains that. Where's Ruffles now?"

"Gone."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Everything I care about goes away."

_'Great. Here's the snobby rich emo girl routine.' _He started to roll his eyes when he heard, "Even things I don't know about go away."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his curiosity peaked. He lowered his gaze and stiffened at seeing a glistening speck watering at the edge of her eye. _'Is she.. crying?'_

She opened her mouth, silent words forming, then closed it. "No clue."

* * *

A week found Serena in Brandon's studio parking lot. The week's previous mishaps came to mind but she deftly obliterated the memories. _'Whatever happened I have to put aside.' _She told herself this three more times before stepping out of her car and into the building. 

When she found Brandon, Andrew, Reika and Natalie, her heart sank. _'Did I blow it? Did he--'_

Her melancholy thoughts were stumped by a grande vanilla bean frappuccino placed in front of her face. Serena blinked, staring from the drink to the hand that held it, to the owner of the hand. An expressionless Darien.

"Thank you," she said, taking it from him.

He rejoiced inside as he walked away. He had been thinking about her and that kiss all week, at least in between running lines. Seeing her after all that time refreshed the strange mood he had toward her. As he took his place next to Natalie, he allowed himself to finally smile. _'Not just a face..'_

* * *

**End Part Three.**

**

* * *

**

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part Four. The Rehearsal.

Darien repeated what she told him at the Dark Rose as best he could and watched as Mina's face twisted slightly.

"Do you know what that means?" It was a ridiculous question. If she hadn't known, she wouldn't have reacted. He didn't want to seem to eager to know, though, so he played dumb.

"Yeah. She said, "I missed you.""

"What? Are you sure?"

Mina nodded. He was truly intrigued now. "Do you know what she was talking about?"

"Beau Cassidy.. her ex-boyfriend."


	5. part four

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Announcements: **So I stumbled upon a fanfic three years in the making that reminded me of my own story. I only see that as a problem because I don't want anyone to think I've been imitating someone else's story plot. I apologize for any and all similarities to that story and to any others out there; I respect other writers' works and originality. Umm, yeah, so I'll go on with my other notes.. 

This chapter took a while to write (as you can see, it has almost been a whole month). I think I was just too worried about moving too slow or too fast. Then I figured, well, if I mess up, people won't like it and.. people won't like it. I hope you'll like it, but I won't know for sure.

Hoped the unraveling truth is intriguing. I'm considering writing a whole segment of Serena's past, but I don't think I'll have enough content. So for now, it's up in the air.

Big thanks to those who reviewed, you are my other source of inspiration. **Sunny38**-2, **crashx**, **Inara Cabot**, **ffgirlmoonie**-4, **serenity11287**-4, **supersaiyanx**-4, **x Such Great Heights x**-4, **Shrouded Mist**, **hidden**, **Silver Moon Goddess1**, **sK8tErGrL626**, **ChieriAn9eL**-3, **Dertupio**, **kireisnowtenshi**-2,** kymie29** and **Cherryblossom-crystal**. In answer to **ffgirlmoonie**'s question, the numbers behind a person's name indicate how many reviews that user has left for this story. Lots of love.

So far this fic has gotten over 3500 hits and is on 19 favorite and 41 alert lists. Scary, but I love it!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Four. The Rehearsal.  
****_"I should never drink again._****_"_**

_

* * *

_

"No," she said, stopping the scene yet again. Darien threw his hands up. "What is it this time?" he demanded, agonizing over the thought of having to repeat the same lines for the seventh time in fifteen minutes.

He was ready to hit somebody, preferrably the beautiful yet picky woman sitting eight feet away. It was the complete opposite of what he felt when he first walked in and saw her. Then again, he wasn't comfortable with this feeling or the one previous to it, in fact the very presence of her was disarming his well-built confidence. _'She has a boyfriend, remember.'_

He wanted to feel bad for her, since she looked about half as worn as he felt. But instinct, like a defense mechanism, led him in the opposite direction. _'Saying no six times must've been exhausting.'_

"Relax, it's not you," Serena said, her voice as monotonous as the day they met. She didn't even look at him when she spoke, her eyes on Natalie instead. Looking like a deer caught in headlights, the brunette quietly waited for Serena to speak.

"Natalie, are you having trouble finding.. inspiration?" Serena asked, her voice dripping with forced sincerity. Honestly, she didn't know what was getting to her more, the fact that Darien was enacting his part perfectly or that Natalie was focused more on flirting than acting.

"Umm.. no?" the actress replied, unsure of what her answer was supposed to be.

Serena nodded in thought. "Okay.. Because I'm finding your character a bit.. perky."

"Okay?"

"Thing is, you're in the middle of a fight with Darien's character."

Andrew snickered, a noise easily muted by Serena's elbow to his gut.

"Oh!" the brunette said, her red mouth shaping a surprised circle. The blonde tried not to look fazed.

"Yeah," Serena trailed for a moment, catching Brandon's eye. Her eyes seemed to ask, "What the hell were we thinking when we decided on her?!" With the same irritated voice she asked, "Would you like to try again? Maybe with a little more anger?"

"Sure."

Serena had to stop them twenty seconds later. Darien watched as she ran a hand through her sunkissed hair and fought a frown. "Natalie," she said through her teeth, "I need anger."

"I'm sorry, I really am. It's just so hard to act angry at a face like Darien's." As if to prove her point, she glanced at him and could only smile like a starstruck fan. Andrew pretended to dry heave, earning a small giggle from Reika and Darien tried not to purse his lips and grimace.

"It's not that hard," Serena moaned, pressing a hand to her head.

"What?" Darien hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"You know," Brandon said, forcing a laugh, "I think we should move on to the next scene. Andrew? Reika?"

Serena placed one hand on her hip, all other expression drained from her face except for determination. "I'm going to step out for a moment," she said, gliding toward the door.

Though he should've been insulted at that moment Darien couldn't help watching her lithe form float across the room. He wanted to growl at the sort of primal desire he felt, for who else would find sandblasted jeans and a gray V-neck tee more distracting than two other women in short skirts? Was it that trained catwalk stroll or the calming ease of her still beauty? _'Back to the sonnets, I see.' _He shook his head and furrowed his brow. _'She has a boyfriend. Boyfriendboyfriendboyfriend.'_

She opened the door, lifting her chin and looking back. "Care to join me, Natalie?"

Darien wanted to curse her then, the sensuous curve of her lips as she smiled, reminding him of the kiss they shared that left him literally breathless. Was she trying to punish him? He didn't think so, but Serena _was_ capable of anything.

Natalie nodded and left after her like a puppy dog. Strangely, he felt jealous of her, for having been invited by the blonde to join her and be in close proximity of her. _'She probably just wants to yell at Natalie in private. It will only take a minute to get her point across.' _Darien smirked, picturing her telling Natalie she lacked any kind of talent.

That minute turned into two. Seconds ticked, each marking a new stab at his patience which, strangely enough, had never run out until Serena walked out the door. _'I can wait. I'm a man driven by level-headedness, not a mass of hormones!'_

He lasted eight minutes.

Serena beckoned for Natalie to follow her. "Where are we going?" the redhead had the curiosity to ask. "Outside," she replied.

Yes, fresh air would do her some good. The reality that her script was on its way to the big screen had been like a head rush. She was really back in L.A., with her friends and family, the possibility of making a private dream of hers come true with her own hands. _'After all this time and all the pain I've been through..'_

Only Natalie Bridges was in the way. Only her insane desire for Darien was preventing her from accomplishment. And that's what she was going to fix.

She stopped just outside the building, placing both hands on her back, and waited for the actress to shuffle out. If she wanted to see Natalie improve, she needed to make sure they were on the same page.

Licking her soft lips she began. "I know you think I'm singling you out--"

"Oh, not at all--"

"--because I am."

"Excuse me?"

Serena turned to her and smiled then. "I admit that I am putting you on the spot. You see, you're playing the female lead, one of the two main characters in this screenplay. I'm sure you've seen my name on the cover page of your own script, and I know you must feel that there's a lot of pressure for you to be at your best at all times."

"Yes," she finally sighed, "Yes, there is."

A double take at the brunette roused a sudden sympathetic smile out of Serena. _'She's me at nineteen. The nightmarish rumors, the world holding a magnifying glass over me and everything I did..'_

"I'll help." Natalie's questioning brow made her explain. "I'll work with you until you've got it nailed."

"You will?"

"I did just offer to do it," Serena mocked, but with a gentle smile.

"Thanks," Natalie beamed. The blonde gave a nod and she took it as her cue to leave. As she opened the door Elsa stepped out, a pack of cigarettes in her hand. Natalie took one glance at her and haughtily moved on.

The door closed and Elsa asked, "You have to work with that bitch?"

Serena laughed. "She's not too bad."

"Maybe when you're in charge," the assistant snorted. She took a cigarette out and offered it to her friend.

Serena stared at the cigarette long and hard. With a steady gaze she took it and brought it to her mouth. Elsa pulled a lighter from her pocket and helped her out. "Thanks, Else," she said, inhaling the familiar yet foreign fumes.

Inhale. Exhale. Another memory. Another rush.

"I didn't think you'd actually take one," Elsa admitted, her incredulous eyes pasted on the sight of Serena with a cigarette in her hand.

"Something I picked up in Paris," came her distant reply. She brought the cigarette to her lips and suddenly.. suddenly, it was gone.

"Bad habit," a deep voice muttered behind her.

She spun just in time to see Darien throw the cigarette to the ground and stomp it out. _'Asshole! Jerk!' _Those things she cried out in her head but didn't say. No matter how strong the urge to lash out at him was, his set jaw and the vein popping out by his right temple silenced her.

Darien was absolutely infuriated. She wasn't supposed to smoke. She could be as bitchy as she wanted to be to him and other people she didn't like, but she wasn't supposed to smoke.

The only logic he had for this kind of anger was that smoking tainted her in every sensual way. Her scent of tropical fruit and jasmine, the light hue of her innocent baby-doe eyes, her passion fruit-flavored lips.. The memory of what she tasted like fizzled in his mind and again he supressed the urge to growl. _'BOYFRIENDBOYFRIENDBOYFRIEND!'_

Serena knew that it was bad for her, even when she had done it in the past she knew it was bad. But she was stressed out, having to deal with overbearing parents, constant reminders of _him_, training Natalie Bridges to be her and the cold, arrogant man standing before her.. A man that, up until a week ago, she was sure she loathed.

With as cool a voice she could muster, she said, "I agree, but it's none of your business."

Elsa, smiling helplessly between them, put her cigarette out and quickly excused herself. She didn't want to see the show no matter how comic it had the potential to be.

"Maybe," Darien began, fists clenched, "but Andrew would kill you if you came back smelling like cigarettes."

_'And from what I can see, so would you.'_ "Point taken." She really couldn't argue about that. Andrew would go nuts if he ever saw what she was doing.

But what was _his_ deal? Why was Darien acting like he cared what Andrew saw in her when he wasn't even around? _'Maybe this has something to do with the Dark Rose..' _"Look, Darien, I know that last week may have given you some sort of impression of me, but that doesn't automatically make me your friend."

To give him some credit he did look surprised. "Do you remember what happened last week?"

"Of course I do!" she flared. _'It wasn't like I was that drunk! Oh, but what did I do?'_ "I drank a little too much, went out on the dance floor, some creep tried to cut in so I sat down and waited it out and.. why are you laughing?"

Darien could barely believe his ears. _'She remembers nothing. Not a damn thing! Hold on, CREEP?!'_ That sobered him up some. "You were dancing with _me_--enjoying it, actually. And if I remember correctly, _you_ were the one who made a pass at me."

"I did no such thing!" Serena hissed, glad that Elsa had decided to leave. The nerve, the sheer audacity of him to suggest something like that!

_'I would remember if I hit on a guy,' _she thought to herself, but doubt and Darien's eyes made her mentally recount the night. She remembered she had been quiet the whole time, drink after drink, listening to her friends and how wonderful their lives had been in her absence. She could tell by their faces, still so wonderfully innocent, so pure. In the middle of wondering if they could see the worn look on hers, her eyes rested on Darien's.

For some reason, she couldn't help comparing Darien to _him_. Their features, their voices, nothing was alike. It was Darien's arrogance that reminded her of _him_, the only man she had ever loved and hated in the same breath. Maybe that's why she kept on glancing at him until he finally caught her staring, eyes narrowing on her. And then she.. she--_'Oh god!'_

His voice brought her back. "Yes, you, Serena Catherine Laraway did."

If only she could find her voice, then maybe she could retort with something as per usual and wipe that smirk off his face. If only he hadn't said something that would render her speechless, then maybe she could face what she had done with her dignity intact. If only he wasn't him and she wasn't her. Damn those if only's.

Darien realized a little too late that this was not how he should've reminded her. He could've told her in a softer, more thought-out way. _'Half an hour ago she said "thank you". Thank you. To me. And now we're fighting.' _He didn't like that thought. "I didn't say that to start another fight, Ren."

Her gaze cleared and she looked at him. She didn't appear fazed by her nickname coming from his mouth. Hope tugged at him to go on. "I don't want to throw anything in your face. Drunk or slightly aware, you did kiss me. You and I don't have to read into it. I just wanted you to acknowledge that it happened."

Serena didn't like listening to him. Really, she just wanted to fight him. Being kind was a lot less bearable than being the person she had become. _'A bitch. Wait, that's a little too harsh. An unhinged little wench, then?' _She almost asked him what he would call her but stopped herself. She instead asked, "What does this mean?"

"I'm sorry that I took your drink."

_'Aha! He admitted that it_ was _mine!'_ "Which means?"

"How about a truce?" Her face became unreadable, a very far away look he hadn't seen on her before. _'It's a far cry from sunshine and flowers.' _"Well?"

"Well.. that would mean.. we would have to.. get along?"

Darien released a laugh. "It's not that hard. Unless you secretly prefer the abusive love-hate relationship and have been making passes at me this whole entire time--"

"Darien!" she yelped.

He stared at her hands as she placed them on her hips, and then at her unusually stern face. "Just kidding," he beamed. _'But it was worth it.'_

Serena bit down on her lip. _'He seems sincere enough, but that doesn't mean he deserves my sympathy on a silver platter. Right?' _Somewhere in her mind screamed in agreement, but her conscience decided to throw logic at her. _'You blonde: he's not _him_. This is annoying, kind-of-sort-of--but-not-that-arrogant Darien Scott we're talking about. A man who would steal my drink, but not my heart. A man who would ruin my day, but not my life.' _Her stomach curled at that last thought. _'No, never again.'_

"Is it too horrible of a thing to consider?" Darien asked when the silence lagged on.

"No, it's not that at all," she replied, snapping out of her reverie. "I was just going to say a truce will be easier for the both of us, since we will be seeing--and working--with each other for a few months." He smiled, responded in concurrence, and she swore she felt something traitorously twist in her gut.

"I'm sure Andrew and the girls will be glad to hear it, too," he added for her benefit.

_'The girls?' _"The girls?"

"You know, Mina, Rei, Lita and Ami."

"Wait," she said, holding a hand out for emphasis, "What does it matter what my friends think?"

The man shrugged. "I just figured they wouldn't feel uncomfortable next time we get together, like tonight--"

"Tonight?"

He bobbed his head. "Yeah, at the Dark Rose."

She frowned. _'How does he know about that?' _She wondered for about point-five seconds longer when he said, "I thought Mina said--"

"Ah yes, Mina." _'I should've known.' _"Yeah, it's a weekly gathering thing we've done for years. We've always managed to make it, unless work takes them out of state, or out of the country."

"Like you?"

She bit her lip, he caught that. Gently she nodded, and her eyes softened. "Biggest mistake of my life."

"But I thought you left for school, freedom and happiness."

Serena stiffened. "That's what I meant."

"So you didn't find any of those things?"

"I did go to school, and I got my bachelor's and everything, but.."

"But?"

Silence.

Darien knew he shouldn't continue, but his curiosity was short-circuiting. He had to know--he was dying to know--what happened, what Ami was talking about a week ago. And before he knew it, "I wouldn't find happiness if I had left someone behind, either."

"What would you know about that?" The demand was automatic, like a defense mechanism.

He didn't regret mentioning her boyfriend, especially since he needed the reminder. However, when his eyes lifted from her silver sandals to her face, he did. All color had bled from her face, her eyes clouded over. A pale storm in the middle of May.

She felt like she was about to faint, her thoughts crossing over at lightning speed. _'Is Darien talking about _him_? He has to be. But that's not what happened! How the hell would he think to ask that, though? How the hell did he know about it? Drew didn't tell him, did he?! No, no, no, it couldn't have been Drew. Drew knows I'd kill him. Oh god, it couldn't be.. MINA!!' _Anger coursed through her veins and spread quicker than a wildfire.

_'How dare she?! Oh hell, it doesn't matter who mentioned it to him. How dare anyone talk about it now!'_

Though she wanted very much to turn the interrogation around on him and threaten him until he had told her everything he meant with his little comment, she stopped herself. Words her mother told her once rang in her head. "You never think before acting. Please, my love, at least be pleasant and then think on whatever's the matter." The advice was given when she was placed in detention for talking back to a teacher in high school, but it was still viable.

Instead of the usual outburst she found herself saying, "Darien, I imagine having mutual friends means we will never be able to keep our relationship at a strictly professional level. That said, I want you to know that no matter how close we get, I would prefer if that topic wasn't unnecessarily brought up in discussion."

It took him a moment to get over his initial reaction to her reaction to his noteworthy statement and realize that, despite her casually cool reply laced with big words and her sudden turn to leave, she was scared.

* * *

The rest of the rehearsal was torture for Serena. She put up a brave front, one she knew was made of glass. Easy to shatter and easy to see through, at least for Darien. 

When she reviewed the scenes Brandon had been going over with Reika and Andrew, she could feel his eyes every time he glanced at her. When she had Darien run through his lines with Reika and then with Andrew, his aura of curiosity still surrounded her. She could've called it paranoia and let the tension slide, but Darien had made his interest in her past clear.

By the time she and Brandon decided to call it a day she felt mentally and spiritually drained. She wanted to talk with Andrew before taking off, but Darien had stuck to his side like glue. To her relief, Brandon eventually pried him away, leaving him in a chat with Reika. She made her move then.

As she approached Reika and Andrew, she overheard him tell her, "We're actually going there tonight."

_'Is he.. inviting her? That's unlike him, unless--' _She grinned. _'The boy's getting it bad.'_

She was thinking of how she was going to handle this new suspicion when a scheme came to mind. "Drew?" she asked, pretending she hadn't heard his attempted invitation.

"Yeah," he said, and the two turned to face her. She wanted to let out a tiny giggle, for they had the same look on their faces; flustered, proverbial hand caught in the cookie jar.

"I was hoping to catch you before tonight," she said, her voice refusing to betray a single strained sound.

"Ah, what's wrong?" he asked, examining her for physical injuries he might have overlooked.

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted some one-on-one catching up."

Reika smiled sympathetically, taking Serena's hint. "I'm going to head out," she said, moving to go.

Andrew's face fell. "Oh, but.."

Serena tucked a growing smile out of sight and shaped it into a frown. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"

The blonde man nodded. "I was just telling Reika how we frequent the Dark Rose and that she should come with us sometime."

Serena's eyes moved from his face to Reika's. She seemed to wilt in response. "We've plans to go tonight. Did you want to join us?"

She imagined Reika didn't expect an invitation from her. Which meant that she was intimidated by her. Which meant that she was, on some level, afraid of her. She couldn't imagine why, until she spotted the script in the redhead's hand. _'My script.'_ As if reading her mind, Reika shifted her arm uncomfortably.

"Oh, I don't know--"

"It's only for a couple of drinks," Andrew said.

The redhead half-shook her head. "Still--"

"If you don't drink, no one will pressure you. Plus, they have great Italian sodas and other nonalcoholic--"

"Drew, let the woman speak," Serena interrupted, knowing that he would have run off at the mouth.

Shyly, Reika spoke. "I-I probably should go over my lines tonight."

Serena's first thought was, _'How someone so socially timid could become an actress, I'll never know.' _Her second thought was along the lines of, _'So she's afraid of me criticizing her for not taking this job seriously. Ugh, seriously.' _"You've done an excellent job with lines today. I'm sure your not going to stunt your progress much by going out tonight. If it does, Drew will be more than willing to help you out."

Reika slowly brightened to the compliment and suggestion. She relented, giving Andrew her number, and said goodbye to a satisfied pair of blondes, one a little happier than the other by her decision.

Andrew treated Serena's furtive smile with a forced blank look. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"No, what?"

"Nothing, just.. are you going to ask her to dance tonight?" she teased.

Andrew was taken aback but quickly came back with, "Like you asked Darien last week?"

"Oh god," Serena groaned, catching her head with her right hand. _'Scandalous.'_ "You remember that?"

He grinned. "I'm sure the girls do, too."

"What's it going to cost you to forget?"

"Don't you mean, what's it going to cost _you_?" He pondered her meaning, and the underlying threat, and realization dawned on him. "Oh."

"Oh, forget it," she said, frowning. "I should never drink again."

He snorted. "You know that's not going to happen."

"Clearly."

"I'll see you tonight, then?"

"Of course."

She was about to bid her goodbye and leave when Andrew began, "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

Serena stared at the blonde man long and hard. She was going to ask him about Darien, if Darien had ever asked about her, but she knew what it would sound like to him. _'And after what he and the girls witnessed last time I don't think I should show any kind of interest in Darien.' _Another con was making Andrew worry about her for no reason. _'He could very well freak out on Darien, which would cause an even greater mess.'_

"It was just a ploy to help you out."

Andrew looked miffed. "Does it look like I need help?"

Serena made it to the door before casually tossing a "You should know better than to ask me that" over her shoulder.

* * *

Darien sat with Mina, Rei, Lita and Ami in the same V.I.P. room as they did last week, patiently waiting for the last three missing friends. Andrew called fifteen minutes ago to say he was running a bit late--he couldn't decide on a shirt--and was on his way to Reika's. Serena, they couldn't get a hold of. 

He had no doubt that she would show up despite what transpired during the rehearsal. Her pride wouldn't allow her to stay home. _'Now if only she could just show up. Only so I'd have someone to make fun of the girls with, of course.'_

He couldn't deny how hilarious it was that Mina, Lita and Rei had shown up wearing the same article of clothing, a one-piece mini jumpsuit. Granted, Mina's was a white halter, Lita's was a gold tube, Rei's was a black racerback, and there were shoes and accessories to consider as well, but overall, the expressions on their faces when they met up was candid camera-worthy.

Ami was a bit more reasonable, a denim skirt that hit mid-thigh, a purple striped button-up, and black pumps, her makeup and jewelry simple and classic. She had a good laugh about her friends' dilemna, too, but Darien couldn't imagine having half as much fun without Serena there.

_'Come on, focus. Just ask the girls, they'll be honest.' _Self-coaxing like this for ten minutes mustered up enough courage to steer the ladies' conversation back to the week before. After waiting for someone to mention it, Rei finally said, "And I couldn't believe my eyes when you and Ren got up and went to the dance floor."

Darien smiled, turning his charm factor on, and began. "I couldn't either. But honestly, I don't think she even remembered half of that night."

"Really?" Rei asked, taking the bait yet again.

_'This is, sadly, too easy.' _"Yeah. And while we were dancing she was saying some weird stuff. Some of it was in another language."

"Probably French," Ami mused.

"What did she say?" Mina asked.

_'Wow. They don't see what they're about to do. I'm a horrible individual.'_

Darien repeated what she told him at the Dark Rose as best he could and watched as Mina's face twisted slightly.

"Do you know what that means?" It was a ridiculous question. If she hadn't known, she wouldn't have reacted. He didn't want to seem to eager to know, though, so he played dumb.

"Yeah. She said, "I missed you.""

"What? Are you sure?"

Mina nodded. He was truly intrigued now. "Do you know what she was talking about?"

"Beau Cassidy.. her ex-boyfriend."

_'Ex? But Ami said--'_

"Boyfriend," Ami chirped.

"Ex-boyfriend," Mina corrected adamantly.

"How do you know?" Rei demanded.

"I saw him a few months ago at some European benefit concert with another woman."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything, though," Darien pointed out.

Mina refused to be outdone. "She hasn't mentioned him once since she's been here, she wears inconspicuous colors day in and day out and she and her parents are on speaking terms. She's heartbroken and you ladies know it."

Dumbfounded by how correct her observations were, Lita, Rei and Ami were silenced.

"What's the story there?" he asked, acting genuinely concerned for Mina's sake. The blonde swished her hair and said, "It's the dumbest story I've ever had the chance to witness."

"Beau was some big shot music artist in France and, unfortunately for us, he came to the states on tour. He and Serena met at the Dark Rose on my twentieth birthday bash. The girls and I dared her to go up to a guy and pull a me.." Mina paused when he didn't seem to get it. "Flirt him senseless."

_'That makes sense.' _"Oh."

"Anyway, they had a thing going on, but then he left to go back to Paris. So what did she do?"

The pieces were starting to fit a single conclusion. "She followed him."

Mina nodded to confirm the truth of his guess, which upset him all the more. _'"School. Freedom. Happiness." Lies.' _"She left," he paused, trying to grasp what his thoughts, "for love."

Nobody reacted to this statement, only stared at Serena, who stood silently behind him.

* * *

**End Part Four.**

**

* * *

**

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part Five. The Compromise.

Serena didn't know if she was glad that she approached them when she did or not. After all, they were talking about her, and about _him_. Beau Cassidy, the sexiest kind of poison known to woman.

She had been avoiding mentioning his name like she would a curse, but there was no need to be superstitious. The man ruined her life, and the worst part was, he didn't even know it. _'This has been established countless times, but it doesn't get any easier.'_

Deep-rooted emotions started seeping into her gut, but she ignored it and decided to speak. "Sorry I was late. I had a couple of errands to run."

She could see the tension build up as each girl avoided switching glances with each other or looking at the raven-haired man sitting in front of her. All Ami could come up with was, "Oh?"

"Yeah, groceries and the post office. Anyway," she quickly added, "What'd I miss?"


	6. part five

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Announcements: **Thank you guys for being soooo extremely patient with me. I've been caught up with ten million things all at once and it was hard to write, much less come up with any more ideas.. But I think I got a jumpstart when I started noticing that my favorite story stats went down from 22 to 19. That was a bummer, but guess what? Still alive on this end. Thanks for sticking with me. This chapter is dedicated to you! 

Haha, by the way, I totally just realized the name of this chapter doesn't really fit. There is no compromise, not between any of the characters, unless you think it's up to interpretation.

Special thanks to my latest reviewers! **crashx**-2, **Inara Cabot**-2, **Sunny38**-3, **PazaakGirl**, **supersaiyanx**-5, **ffgirlmoonie**-5, **x Such Great Heights x**-5 (so sorry about that!), **raye85**-3, **Lennatha**,** Silver Moon Goddess1**-2, S**ilver Moonlight-81**, **Dertupio**-2, **ZOey89**, **kireisnowtenshi**-3, **milkshakelvr**, **ChieriAn9eL**-4, **rosebudjamie **and **kagome love inuyasha101**. Lots of love.

So far this fic has gotten over 5000 hits and is on 19 favorite and 51 alert lists.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Five. The Compromise.  
****_"I don't want to go home._****_"_**

* * *

Serena had been running ahead of schedule and was just about to pick an outfit out when Kristophe, her old modeling agent, gave her a ring. Startled, she allowed him to distract her with "so where the hell have you been?"s and "what have you been up to?"s. After spilling their stories for the past three years in three minutes each, Kristophe sighed and said, "I'm so relieved you've decided to come back, darling." 

Serena smiled. "Yeah, I am, too." She was almost said she was just thinking of how great it was to hear from him when he said, "So Joel's going to pick you up and.. I'll see you at the studio tomorrow at eight?"

A pause. _'Huh?'_ "What?"

"Well, I figured you wouldn't be used to showing up at six in the morning anymore so--"

Her jaw felt numb, the muscles refusing to bring her smile down. "Umm, Kristophe honey, what the hell are you talking about?"

This time he paused. "I scheduled a photo shoot with Bridgette. Don't you want to update your portfolio?"

Serena's heart stopped. _'He scheduled an appointment? Why the hell would he do that? He's acting like.. like.. an agent!' _A queasy feeling came over her. "Not at all! What gave you that idea?"

"But I thought your parents--"

"Oh my god," Serena moaned, exasperated, and she had to plop down on her couch. _'My parents.. What the hell are they thinking?!'_

She held her head in her free hand, thinking back on the last week she had been in Los Angeles before moving out to Paris. Her parents were furious to hear that she had terminated her contract with her modeling agency, one of the top on the international level. They were even more put off to find that, upon Serena's resignation, Mina had stepped down as well. "You're ruining Mina's future as well as your own, all for a single man!" Emilie had yelled.

"Don't put all the blame on me! Mina chose to quit on her own!"

"So what will happen to you, then? Do you plan to marry this man?"

"I don't know, Papa."

"Then think this through, Ren. Do you really want to give your career up for an insecure future?"

"I don't know, Papa."

"Tell us what you _do_ know!" Emilie shrieked, on the verge of throwing a three-hundred dollar vase at the wall.

"I'm not throwing my life away, if that's what you think I plan on doing! I have other dreams, one that includes a man, yes, but that's only a part of it. I want to make something of myself, I actually want to earn my own name!" By this time she was shaking, her anger rising to a new level with each heaving breath.

"You see, Michael?" Emilie cried, throwing her hands in the air, "This is why we shouldn't have sent her to college."

The conversation ended there, with Serena stomping out of the house and leaving for who-the-hell-knew-where the following week.

And here it was, starting all over. They were trying to maneuver around her and plan out her life as if she was nineteen again. _'They really know how to piss me off!'_

Somehow, Kristophe's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "So.. that means you don't want to go back?"

"I'm afraid so. Are we still keeping in touch?"

"Absolutely. Kisses," he chirped, as bright as ever, before he hung up.

In a flash she was out the door and into her car, speeding down the familiar path to her parents' house. All five of their cars were in the back so she knew they were there. Blood was rushing through her system at an alarming pace, but she refused to think of what she should say. Besides, the proper words always came to her when she gave them little to no thought.

She found them eating dinner in the kitchen. "Ren!" her father exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

"Bon soir, Papa."

"Come, join us for dinner," he said, offering a chair.

She shook her head. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass." Her mother had yet to reveal that anything was wrong. She simply sat and carved at her chicken, cutting it into miniscule pieces. _'How can she go on like nothing's the matter?'_

"Mom," she said, deathly calm.

Emilie paused, looked up at Michael and then at her daughter. "Yes, my love?"

She put on a sickly sweet smile and spoke through clenched teeth. "I thought we discussed that I'm not going to model again. Ever."

"Yes, I remember that conversation," Michael interjected grimly, rubbing his chin. "But what does that have to do with now?"

Serena's eyes narrowed. "So you weren't a part of this, then?"

Her father furrowed a brow. "A part of what?"

It was then that Emilie set her dinnerware down and, food forgotten, began to speak. "I arranged a photo shoot for our daughter, which I'm sure she foolishly cancelled."

"What?" Michael asked incredibly, eyes widening at his wife.

"That's exactly what I said when Kristophe called out of the blue," Serena added, although it almost went unnoticed.

"Em, why?"

Her mother, of course, played innocent. "Why what?"

This time, Serena spoke. "Why would you go behind my back and try and meddle with my life?"

Emilie looked miffed. "Oh, so now I'm _meddling_, am I?"

"Yeah, I'd say calling my old agent on my behalf _without_ my consent would qualify for meddling," the youth retorted, but she wasn't done. "Mom, I'm twenty-two years old. I've lived without your guidance for three years, even more if you count college. All I ever needed was control of my own life. But you just can't give that to me, can you?"

"Serena," Emilie said, her face blank, "You have already done your part in giving Brandon a script. Now he has a project to occupy his time. So why not do something meaningful again? Something that reflects that you give half a damn about your own life so that I don't have to try for you?"

"Em!"

Serena's mouth didn't drop, even at her father's outburst. In fact, she met her mother's nonchalant expression with one of her own. "I expected as much, that you would be completely devoid of compassion. That's why I didn't call when I came back to L.A.," she said, feeling a headache coming on. "There's no negotiating with you, no meeting you halfway. So I guess that means that there's no reason to reach out to you anymore."

With that, she gave her father an apologetic smirk, an "I'll call you later, Papa", and ignored the rest of the "Ren, please wait"s coming from him on her way out.

The drive home, changing into her favorite cropped jeans, a pink and silver tank and a black three-fourths blazer, all of it was done without thought. She didn't even know how she had the mind to slip on a pair of black stiletto ankle-boots and drive out to the club. She felt like crying, she really did, but she couldn't even grasp the words she and her mother had exchanged.

Then she had to walk in on her friends talking to Darien and, from the looks of it, she was the prime topic. Or, more correctly, who she used to be with.

Serena didn't know if she was glad that she approached them when she did or not. After all, they were talking about her, and about _him_. Beau Cassidy, the sexiest kind of poison known to woman.

She had been avoiding mentioning his name like she would a curse, but there was no need to be superstitious. The man ruined her life, and the worst part was, he didn't even know it. _'This has been established countless times, but it doesn't get any easier.'_

Deep-rooted emotions started seeping into her gut, but she ignored it and decided to speak. "Sorry I was late. I had a couple of errands to run."

She could see the tension build up as each girl avoided switching glances with each other or looking at the raven-haired man sitting in front of her. All Ami could come up with was, "Oh?"

"Yeah, groceries and the post office. Anyway," she quickly added, "What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Mina said, tossing her hair casually, "just spilling the woes of a missing supermodel."

_'Oh Mina,' _Serena sighed inwardly, _'You've always been good at damage control.' _"Still?" she asked, maintaining the charade.

"Yeah, Victoria, the damn bitch, turned all prospects against me. Interested?"

_'Modeling again. Can I never get away from it, dammit?' _Serena sighed, plopping down on the couch next to Darien. Ami and Lita switched concerned glances, which made him nervous. "Ren, what's the matter?" Lita asked, placing an arm around her friend.

"Mom called Kristophe."

_'Who?' _Darien felt completely lost.

"Wait," Mina said, "Kristophe, as in our old modeling agent-Kristophe?"

She nodded. There was a collective intake of gasps and the sympathetic eyeing of a friend. Darien heard Lita mutter "oh god" under her breath, but Rei was the first to speak for everyone to hear. "Is that why you were really late?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I had to confront her about it. And all she said was that I should let Brandon finish everything. That I should go back to what I can actually do."

"Holy shit, seriously?" Lita asked, wide-eyed.

There was an opportunity for Darien to single-handedly turn that last statement into a joke, but from the seriousness emanating from each woman--and because of what Serena said next--he decided against it.

"I think what she said, word for word, was, "So why not do something meaningful again? Something that reflects that you give half a damn about your own life so that I don't have to try for you?""

_'How cruel, even for Ren at what I'm sure was her bitchiest!' _He felt a fleeting surge of anger upon hearing that, but before anyone could verbally respond Andrew and Reika arrived. Reading their faces, Andrew quirked his eyebrow, wanting to know what happened. Again, everyone was speechless. But Darien watched as Serena quickly recovered and smiled, making some comment about how fabulous Reika looked, and excused herself from the table.

He wanted to follow her, make sure she wouldn't order too many drinks at the bar, but Andrew wouldn't let anyone budge until he got some answers. Quickly, Ami retold the story to him and afterward, he let out a deep sigh.

"I don't understand," Reika said, confusion marked on her forehead. "Why wouldn't Serena's mother want her to help make the film?"

"Aunt Em has never really supported Serena going to college, or anything else that didn't relate to modeling," Mina answered.

_'College?' _Darien almost burst out, but then he remembered the conversation he had with Ami a week prior to this one. _'Ah, yes, she did say she met Ren in college.'_

"But it's _her_ script," Reika said vehemently, not recognizing the look on the raven-haired man's face as shock, "She should do whatever she wants concerning it."

Ami, who had seen Darien's jaw literally drop at Reika's statement, excused herself to find Serena. She promptly left the room, dragging Darien out by the sleeve in the process. He didn't complain, for he was too busy sorting through his colliding thoughts. There were quite a few. _'What the hell?'_ and _'No freaking way!'_ were the top two.

He waited until they put a bit of distance between them and the rest of the group before asking, "Did I hear correctly? Ren is the writer behind the script we're using?" The bluenette must have known it was no use lying to him because she nodded.

He cursed silently, then cursed again. "Was I the only one who didn't know?"

"Yes."

He didn't hide his anger at the plain answer. "How the hell did that happen?"

Ami took her time. "Ren told us she took the front page of your script where all the credentials were before she gave it to you."

_'No wonder..' _His mind went back to the day Serena went to his house. _'She took it, and I thought it was just missing.' _He backtracked even further and rememered the conversation he had with Andrew when they first decided to go over lines together. Andrew was so sure he wasn't going to like it, but he did. _'No wonder it reminded me of someone.. it was her. It was Ren all along!'_

Some alien feeling twisted in his gut. He really liked the script. He like the awkward humor of the scenes, the sarcasm in the characters, the way everything played out so raw and real. _'And so not something I dared to think Ren could_ ever _write.' _But it all made sense. Why she had as much say as Brandon did in this project. She had been calling the shots since the beginning. And there were a few feelings linked to that thought that he was experiencing at the moment.

"I imagine knowing this is a problem for you?" Ami's voice rang, reminding him of his initial reaction.

He stopped, spotting Serena at the bar with what looked like a very interested brown-haired man and all chances of a response seemed to disappear. "Yes," he said, making his determined way over to the blonde.

Serena was too busy to notice, downing her fourth shot of vodka and listening to a compliment the stranger next to her was throwing her way. Actually, he wasn't a stranger. He was some male model she met at a fasion show in Prague. Apparently he'd promised her a drink then and now he'd bought four.

"I'm glad we met again tonight," he said, doing his best to sound mysterious as he scooted his barstool closer and closer to her. "You are so intriguing, and almost as hot as I am."

_'Yep, thanks asshole.' _She let him ramble on, nodding her head every once in a while. She already knew where he was going with his act, but she wanted to see how long it would take--and how many shots she could down--before he got to the point.

When she did notice Darien crossing the club to the bar, she perked up instantly and leaned forward so that the tank she wore sunk dangerously low. _'Let's have some fun.. Bwuah-haha..' _She smiled, watching the redhead's eyes drop to her shirt and trace upward, back to her eyes. "You know, Freddy--"

He cleared his throat. "Franco," he said and shifted in his seat to get a better view of her.

"Who's that?" she asked, then shook her head. "Look, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you scratched my back and helped me get what I want." She waited until he looked her up and down again before adding, "But what is it that _you_ really want?"

She felt numb as his eyes couldn't stop exploring. She didn't feel alienated in any way, which just proved that not only was she a model from the time she was thirteen but a woman who'd already given everything she had. There was no hesitation, no rules of inhibition for her. _'Wow, morality really is lost to Hollywood.'_

"You know what I really want?" the man's voice was a soft echo in her head. She nodded. He leaned forward, as if to kiss her, but instead brought his lips to her ear. "I want to take you out to dinner sometime."

Before she could reply, a familiar, deep voice behind him said, "You might want to rethink that."

The brunette abruptly pulled back and turned to face Darien. _'He's not even that good-looking,' _Darien flared, but didn't speak the thought. By now he'd realized it would be a huge mistake to let his real emotions show in front of the likes of Serena. It was a good decision especially at that moment, since he walked in on what looked like that guy leaning in to kiss her. Boy, was he pissed.

Serena was irritated as well. Not that her anger could be compared to Darien's--it was like comparing a candle flame to a tiki torch's--but it was there, simmering inside of her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, waving Ami away when she came to help her out of her seat. _'Great, he's even put my friend against me!'_

Darien ignored her two-year-old glare and answered, "Stopping you from making a horrible mistake."

Serena snorted. _'Too bad you weren't around three years ago.. when I needed it.' _Instead of saying it, though, she caught the bartender's eye and nodded. He quickly poured her a shot, one she downed in record time.

"And you are?" Freddy--Franco--whatever his name was, asked.

Darien had to bite back something snippy, especially since his anger had risen when Serena had taken another drink. _'At this rate she's going to be drunk. The perfect prey for someone like him.' _"A friend. So back off," was all he said.

Serena looked up when he said that. _'A friend?' _Some part of her was about to deny it, but figured there was no other noun to describe what they were. Which was just as troubling as the memories she couldn't quell. The bartender sent another shot her way. She gave him a look that asked, "Are my emotions really written on my face?" but thought better of voicing it.

"Why would I do that?" the model asked defiantly, directing the question toward Darien.

_'Because I'll rip you apart.' _"She's already spoken for," he answered coolly and leaned over, taking the full shot glass from Serena's hand.

_'That thief! He stole my drink! Again!' _Serena opened her mouth to complain, but one look from Darien's very cross face silenced her.

From the corner of his eye, Darien saw Ami step in front of the young man and say, "This is your cue to leave." He almost said something but she quickly added, "And before you say no one knows me because I'm not as semi-famous as you, it's true. But that doesn't mean I can't kick your sorry ass if I have to."

Darien smiled at the man's shocked face before he left and had to look at Serena's friend in pleasant wonder. _'I love that woman.' _As if reading her thoughts, she turned to her friends and popped her collar uncharacteristically. "It's 'cause I have a PhD," she said with a twang.

"I should probably get one of those," he said and turned back to Serena. Only to find her recovering from another drink.

She wiped at her face and chuckled at how serious Ami and Darien were. "What?" she asked, sloppily wiping at the side of her mouth, "It's just one drink."

"One more drink to add on to the two you had since we got here," Ami argued. "And how many have you had before that?"

Serena had to pause and mentally count off. The room spun once or twice before she remembered. "Tw-four?"

Darien raised his eyebrow. _'Is she asking or guessing?' _"Yeah, well that's seven shots in the past twenty minutes. I think it's time for you to go home."

"You afraid another random guy's going to hit on me?" Serena asked. She scoffed when they exchanged more of those worried looks they'd come to the bar with. "Don't worry, I hit back. Hard. And if you guys had given me a chance, I would've told that guy off, too."

"I don't doubt that, but I do doubt you'll be able to resist anything if you stay any longer," Ami pointed out.

"You mean, like I wasn't able to with Beau?" She winced as she said his name and saw how uncomfortable Darien and Ami turned. _'I don't know why I should keep pretending. They should be the ones that are ashamed for bringing him up again!' _"Yep, I heard what you guys were talking about." She blinked and hated how the flashing lights from the dance floor were making the room spin faster. But the irritation was festering at her. Who's business was it but her own? Why did everyone _have_ to know what happened to her? "You're all a bunch of nosy bastards."

Ami was unbelievably calm after the blonde's flat declaration. She extended her hand and said, "Ren, we have to get you home now."

Serena didn't give Ami her hand. She merely spat, "I can handle myself. I've been through worse, you two don't know how much worse." And with that, she flung herself off the barstool.

Darien had to steady her a little bit, but once she was on her own two feet she stepped back from him. "Just listen to us, Ren.."

Serena choked back a gasp. Déjà vu washed over her, taking her three years into the past. _'Where have I heard that before?' _And then it struck her. _'That night.. the night I lost everything.. Listen. Just listen.'_

The worst night of her life. She was drunk, as much or maybe even more than she was now, but the flashes of memory still came. A cream tile floor. A putrid scent. Blood everywhere. Helpless. Disgusted. Concern on the faces of her roommate and some random guy who wouldn't leave. Emptiness like nothing she'd ever felt.

Darien hoped--practically prayed--that what he said got through to her. That the reason she stopped fighting them was because she was ready to let them take her home and take care of her. It didn't seem too far off of an idea. He placed a hand on her upper arm, nudged a little to get her attention. "You should go home and get some rest."

She looked like she wanted to yell at him, but for some reason all her anger was gone. It was replaced with a deeper pang of longing and sadness. And softly, she said, "I don't want to go home."

_'Something's wrong..' _She didn't have to say it, her eyes said it all. Two cornflower orbs of pain and maybe regret. The intensity of it made Darien come to suspect that she was not upset about his interfering with a male model hitting on her but rather something else. Something more. Something worse. His gaze quickly flicked to Ami, who looked like she was thinking along the same lines. Eyes back on Serena, he sighed and asked, "Where would you like to go?"

Serena actually had no clue how to answer, because the memories--the wounds--were still there. And back then, going home didn't work. The hospital didn't work, either. Nowhere made her feel safe. Nowhere but-- _'It's crazy, but that's the only place..'_

"I want to go to your house."

Darien almost thought he didn't hear her right, but when he saw how shocked Ami was, he realized the blonde did say it. _'Ren wants to go home with me. Me, Darien. This is weird. I thought we were like sworn enemies or something of that nature.'_

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Ami asked suspiciously.

Serena bobbed her blonde head and grabbed on to both Darien and Ami's arms before she could fall backward. "And maybe.. maybe a vanilla bean frappuccino."

* * *

**End Part Five.**

* * *

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part Six. The Talk.

"What is it about me that you hate so much?"

She crossed her arms in a childlike fashion. "What?"

"Is it my sincerity, my sense of humor, my hair?"

"You're being ridiculous," she said. And yet, he looked at her for a real answer. "No!"

"Then what is it--"

"I'm completely attracted to you!"


	7. part six

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Announcements: **I love the perceptive reviews I received from the last chapter. In answer to the questions, there will be a few snippits in this chapter but for the most part Serena's past will be revealed in the next chapter. I just wanted to focus on Darien's reaction to her being the screenwriter before I threw in the whole big horrible past thing. I mean, let's face it, he's going to figure out that Serena's bad drinking habit is something she's picked up in France, and he's determined to figure out why she's developed it so that he can stop it.

I have to warn you, Serena's past hasn't been the most clean. So there will be some cursing, the infamous "F" word, and all. Sorry if it disturbs you, but I'm trying to make her past true to life.

One last thing.. It's been a while since I've updated this story, so I took a moment to read the past chapters and.. I don't know what frame of mind I was in when I wrote this stuff. All I know is that this story has got to be the most OCD story I've written yet. I started this story a long time ago, when I hadn't been as good, so I hope that in this chapter you'll be able to tell the different style I've been developing since I began.

Special thanks to my latest reviewers! **Shrouded Mist**, **moonfan2012**, **serenity11287**, **kireisnowtenshi**, **Silver Moon Goddess1**, **Sunny38**, **supersaiyanx**, **x Such Great Heights x**, **sakura sake**, **Silver Moonlight-81**, **wow..**, **ffgirlmoonie**, **Dertupio**, **xraquellie**, **)**, **katto**, **sailor-moon-is-eternal**, **CassieJamerson**, **starlitejewelbaby**, **jessicam242**, **Edward4ever1992** and **iloveebfanfics**. No numbers this time, but still, lots of love to you!

So far this fic has gotten over 9500 hits and is on 37 favorite and 72 alert lists.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

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**Part Six. The Talk.  
****_"I'm not above embarrassing myself."_**

* * *

Darien ran a hand through his hair and checked to make sure Ami, who was driving Serena's car, was still behind him in the rearview mirror. She was. He glanced at his odometer. Heavens, the woman could not be daring and go even two miles over the speed limit. _'At this rate, Ren will lose consciousness.'_

Which looked quite inevitable from where he was sitting. The way she stared listlessly out the window of the passenger's side, her head lolling to the side every once in a while, had him worried. What was going through her mind? Was she realizing how stupid she had been, taking drinks from a guy who obviously wanted to sleep with her? That thought made him lose his footing on the accelerator.

Ren? Sleeping around? _'That's.. that's crazy!' _Sure, she was a supermodel, and she had a boyfriend she went all the way to France for once upon a time, but sleeping around? It sounded as ridiculous as her drinking.. or smoking.. _'Or writing a damn brilliant script.' _Instead of losing his footing, his hand slipped on the steering wheel. Quickly he recovered, but the thought was still there. _'How could she write something so clever? So inspiring? So real? Her life couldn't be as hard as those characters'..' _He looked at her again, but her face remained directed toward the window.

It suddenly hit him that Serena Laraway was nothing like what he expected. She was much better. Despite her flaws, her bad habits and her on-and-off irritation toward him, she was an interesting young woman full of complexities and secrets he was oh-too-curious to find out. And if he was ever going to find out, he was going to have to let go of what he thought she should've been like and accept everything.

Serena bent her head against the cool glass, letting it battle against the unnatural warmth of her forehead. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid..' _she thought to herself, _'When will I ever learn?'_

Drinking had always been a problem with her. By the time she was eighteen she was travelling to night clubs with the rest of the party team, except for when international fashion shows dragged her and Mina away. And when she left for Paris, it only became worse. She couldn't believe how worse..

Serena closed her eyes, remembering just how bad it was in France. Sure, she went to school, she had an awesome roommate whom she could go out with, but she was slipping, sliding down this path to self-destruction. And the way she was going around, chasing after Beau to try and get his attention again..

She swallowed hard, partly to get rid of the urge to hurl and partly to stop herself from remembering. The last thing she wanted to do was take a trip down memory lane with Darien sitting right beside her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She contemplated it for a moment. "No."

"I know," Darien said after a moment's pause, "Dumb question."

They sat in a silence that was neither awkward nor comfortable, until Darien said, "You might not ever thank me for pulling you away tonight, but at least you'll know it was for your own good."

"Could you spare me the lecture on morality here?" Serena asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The last thing I need right now, or ever, is for you to start sounding like my mother."

Darien stopped himself from saying something mean just to retaliate. She was right. She'd already taken too many verbal punches from her mom that day and was probably acting the way she did at the club to simply act out. She needed a break. "Okay," he said and went back to watching the road.

"Where are we going?" Serena asked, looking out of the front windshield for the first time.

He almost laughed but then remembered that he was trying to be nice. "My place."

_'Ahh..' _"Why?"

_'Oh, great.' _"Because you asked if I could take you home with me." He almost lost it then, trying not to laugh at the implications of his answer. _'Maybe I should just stop teasing her.. Nah!'_

Serena crossed her arms and huffed. "I would _never_ have done such a thing!"

_'Ha!' _"That's what you said about kissing me--"

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Don't bring that up again!"

He chuckled. "But I think it's funny that you would say the same thing about--"

"Darien, I swear I will puke all over this lovely car of yours and hope it splatters all over you if you continue!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

Serena gave him a smug glance. "Don't be so sure of yourself, buddy. I'm not above embarrassing myself."

"I noticed--"

"Hey, where are we going?"

_'Ahh..' _"Good grief.."

It wasn't long after that they arrived at Darien's house. Ami got out of her car and proceeded to help him drag Serena out of the car. A series of drunken babbles, sharp curses and controlled swaying later, they had the blonde inside, upstairs and on Darien's bed.

"Mm," she said, grabbing and locking a pillow under her head, "So soft.."

Darien tried to hide his smile from Ami as she walked past him to get a trash can. She came back and placed it on the ground by Serena's side. "If you need to vomit," she said, indicating the receptacle before jumping at the sound of Jaime barking.

The little terrier appeared a second later, running straight from the threshold to the bed. In an amazing moment she jumped on the bed and trotted to Serena's face, licking her nose. Serena just smiled and petted the puppy accordingly.

"Ren," Ami said, "Just remember to go to sleep on your side, okay?"

Serena wrinkled her nose. "Don't worry about me, Soph," she said, eyes half-closed, "I'll be fine."

_'Soph?' _Darien furrowed his brow, watching as Ami mirrored his expression. "Who?" he asked, but the blonde didn't hear him.

"She's out," Ami declared and stepped out of the room. Darien followed her.

"Do you mind if I call and see if one of the other's can't come and stay with her?" she asked, checking her watch. "I have to assist in a surgery tomorrow--actually early today."

Darien nodded. "Of course."

Ami nodded called a number on her cell phone. Rei must have picked up, because Ami immediately started to speak in a different language. Darien stood there, not knowing what to do except keep looking at his traitorous dog nestled next to Serena in a picturesque scene. _'How.. cute.'_

Ami snapping her phone shut brought him out of his thoughts. "Lita's got her hands full with Mina, but Rei is on her way."

"Good," Darien nodded and mustered a smile. "Thanks for helping me take care of her."

"Oh no," Ami shook her head, "Thank _you_, Darien. It's strange but.. well.."

She didn't continue. Darien angled his head so that he could maintain eye contact with her. He didn't want her to look away, because she looked like she was about to say something important. "What?"

Ami bit her lip, then answered. "We're supposed to help Ren. When she drinks too much, we're supposed to tell her that's enough, or take her home. When she's about to puke, we're supposed to be there to hold her hair back. But sometimes we just get caught up in everything that's going on that we don't do those things."

"I hope you're not beating yourself up about not stopping Ren before things almost got out of hand tonight," he said. "Look, she was already upset when she got to the club. She was going to drink herself half-blind with or without us being there."

Ami simply nodded, and sighed. "I don't want you to think I tell everyone these things about her. She's a very private person. None of us really know what happened to her in France. But since she seems to be getting close to you--"

"Wait, Ren and I?" _'In what dimension and on what planet?'_

The bluenette smiled. "She asked you to take her to your home, not hers. And she's bonded quite well to your dog. I think she trusts you more than you know."

* * *

_Serena giggled, watching Mina shamelessly hit on another male model she'd invited to the Dark Rose. She flung her hair behind her back as she talked to him, one hand placed confidently on her hip, the other right above his shoulder, propped against the wall. With a tip of her chin, she let out a soft laugh, exposing her neck to his line of vision. _

_Serena could see a lump gather in his throat and a larger one at the front of his pants and giggled all the more. "Oh would you quit encouraging her? She can hear you, you know," Rei chided, taking a swig of her martini._

_"Are you kidding? She's like ten feet away," Serena argued, her hand coming up in a gesture._

_"Don't point!" a then-self-conscious Ami said, knocking her hand down._

_Serena just laughed, teasing her blue-haired friend by pretending to lift her arm to point again and again. Lita sighed behind them. "Why does Mina get all the action?"_

_Serena stopped taunting and turned to Lita. "Because it's Mina's birthday party."_

_"It's not just because of that," Rei pointed out. "Look at her. Mina reels them in by the dozen on a daily basis."_

_Serena shrugged, giving the bartender a nod for another shot. "We could all do that if we wanted to."_

_"Oh, I want," Lita said, watching Mina and the model with envy, "It just never happens."_

_The blonde psh'd her friends. "My dears, it only takes confidence, a _lot_ of phallic gestures and the idea of temporary interest that could fizzle out at any given moment, and you got 'em," she concluded, snapping her fingers like a magician."It's as simple as that."_

_"If it's so simple," Rei sniffed, "Then why don't you do it?"_

_"Because I'm not pining for action like you and Lita."_

_"Ren!" Ami scolded, shaking her head._

_"Then prove your theory," Rei huffed. "Show us that you've got Mina's routine down."_

_Serena laughed. "Why would I do that?"_

_"Because talk is cheap," Rei answered. "I doubt that big mouth of yours can actually back your theory up."_

_"Rei!"_

_"Face it, Ami," Serena turned and said, "Friends like us don't come censored."_

_"Whoo!" Mina cried out, finally joining the four. "Is it hot in here or is it every other gorgeous guy that's been hitting on me?"_

_Serena laughed and passed her friend a drink on the rocks. "More like every guy _you_'ve been hitting on, Mina."_

_"What's the difference?"_

_Lita sighed at Mina's nonchalance. "You're just too skilled."_

_"Don't exaggerate, Lita," Serena argued. "Mina is still a young grasshopper."_

_She thought that would be the end of the discussion, but Rei crossed her arms. "I'm still waiting for you to do it."_

_Mina looked at her friends. "Do what?"_

_Serena tilted her head sideways. "Come on, Rei. Don't take the action crack so seriously."_

_"Guys, what are you talking about?"_

_"That has nothing to do with you saying you can get any guy you want," Rei said._

_"Wait, you think Serena can't hit on a guy?" Mina asked incredulously._

_"Not just that," Ami corrected. "They think Serena can't hit on a guy like you can."_

_"Which is how?"_

_"In one word," the bluenette said and smiled, "Shamelessly."_

_"And the supposed catch is that I can't have a man eating out of the palm of my hand as a result of such shameless come ons," Serena added._

_"Go on, Serena. I want to see it, too. Maybe we'll be able to learn a thing or two," Lita added._

_After a bit of contemplation the blonde gave her friends a furtive smile. "You sure about this?" Even Ami nodded. "All right. Fine," she said, "Choose a guy."_

_She was sure Rei was going to choose some guy Mina had already flirted with, more specifically the guy who was standing by the DJ--Mina had transformed him into complete mush, convincing him to go choose a song and dedicate it to her for her birthday--but Rei surprised her by saying, "Ooh, I haven't seen that one all night."_

_The girls turned, tracking Rei's eyes to a guy sitting at a table by himself, focused on his drink. Unlike the surrounding male models, he was dressed in black slacks and a green button-up shirt. He had thick, dark brown hair that grew out in waves that accented his face. Serena could make out a sharp nose and hazel eyes._

_"A loner?" Lita guessed._

_"The closest thing to a wallflower at this bash," Mina noted. "He certainly hasn't hit on me."_

_"Tragic," Serena sarcastically bit out, and the friends resumed their staring._

_Ami shrugged. "He's cute enough, from this distance."_

_Lita, Rei and Serena turned to the doctor with shocked faces. "Ami.." Serena said, aghast, then smiled, "I like."_

_Serena's shot arrived. She drank it in one quick gulp and turned in the direction of her target. "Watch how it's done, ladies," she said and strolled over to him._

_Serena was pretty confident about her mission, but halfway into her trip, something weird happened. The closer she got to him, the more attractive he became. In fact, by the time she was five feet away from him, she realized he didn't look anything like the typical Californian. His hair belonged to a grown-up cherub, his face almost perfectly symmmetrical. He was.. breathtaking._

_"Hi," she said._

_"Hi," he answered, just staring at her._

_Serena shifted her weight to her other foot. "I'm sorry, I went through the guest list myself and I can't quite place you."_

_He cocked his head. "Is this a private party?"_

_"Sort of. It's my best friend's twentieth birthday bash," she answered. She watched his face morph with confusion. "I.. take it you didn't know about it."_

_He shook his head, his beautiful hair following the movements._

_"You know of Mina Bellamy, though," she said, her voice turning it into a question._

_Again, he shook his head. "I'm kind of from out of town.."_

_"I kind of noticed."_

_He smiled at her innocent quip. "Does this mean I'm going to get kicked out by those nasty-looking bouncers?"_

_Serena shook her head adamantly. "No. If they ask, tell them you know me."_

_He leaned forward. "And you would be..?"_

_"Serena Laraway," she said, offering her hand._

_"Beau Cassidy," he said in return, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips._

_Serena melted, not expecting him to do that. The man known as Beau offered her the seat next to him. She took it with as much grace as she could. "That's an interesting name," she commented. "French."_

_"Oui, ma chère," he responded._

_"Ahh, fluent in three words," she said._

_He matched her smile with a grin of his own. "I'm more fluent than that," he said._

_"I didn't catch much of an accent."_

_"That's because I've spent a lot of time in the States."_

_"So you're originally from France. Hmm," she said, pressing a finger to her chin, "that's_ really _out of town."_

_"Okay, so I lied," he admitted, the smile not leaving his face._

_"Why would you lie to a stranger?" she asked, truly intrigued._

_"Because in France," he began, hesitating just for a second, "I'm kind of a big deal."_

_Serena laughed, tipping her head just the way Mina did earlier. "I liked that. You were so modest."_

_"Hey," he said, pretending to be miffed, "It's the truth."_

_"I don't doubt you, although you've already lied to me once," she teased. "What do you do then?"_

_"Music," he answered, pausing as a passing waiter gave them two flutes of champagne. He handed one to Serena and she took it from him, their fingers grazing for a split second. The frisson of shock that came with it confused her. She ran her gaze from their hands to his face. Given his expression he was just as affected by that as she was._

_Her eyes never leaving his, she raised her glass. "To meeting new people," she said._

_"To meeting new, very fascinating, and very beautiful people," he cheered, and tapped her glass with his._

_Serena didn't know what to say so she downed half the glass. She knew he was watching her, which made her all the more fidgety. She watched him dig into his pocket and pull a card out. "Do you ever pass by Pomona?" he asked._

_"Why are you asking?" she asked, her heart fluttering in her chest._

_He handed her the card, but closed her hand so she couldn't see what it was. The plastic dug into her skin, but she didn't notice as his hand covered hers. He leaned forward. "I'd like to see you again, along with this. If you can, bring this to the Glass House in two days, at around eight." He gave her a quick kiss right under her earlobe, stood and left._

_Ami, Rei and Lita bombarded her with questions when she found the strength to wobble back._

_"I didn't realize he was that good-looking!" Rei exclaimed._

_"Was it hard to talk in coherent sentences?"_

_Serena smiled at Lita. "Very."_

_"But it was quite the seductive interaction you had going on," Ami commented._

_"Yeah," the blonde nodded numbly._

_Lita grinned. "What did you think of it?"_

_"In one word? Magical."_

_The girls gushed for three minutes as Serena filled them in on the conversation. Once the giddiness subsided, Ami asked, "So what did he give you?"_

_The card, long-forgotten, was still within her vice-like grip. She looked down, opening her fingers, and gasped. The man had given her his French driver's license._

* * *

Darien waited for Rei to close the door behind her before speaking. "She still out?"

"Out cold," the raven-haired woman replied, following Darien downstairs.

"I appreciate you staying for her," he said, leading her into his living room.

"Oh, trust me," Rei said, taking a seat on his couch adjacent to him, "I've done worse for Ren."

Darien's expression turned amused. "Worse than spending the night at some random guy's house, you mean?"

Rei gave in and smiled. "Yeah."

"I'm intrigued. Are you going to elaborate?" he asked. _'Damn me and my curiosity.'_

"I was the one who picked her up after she got in a fight--_the_ fight--with her parents three years ago."

Darien stopped, surprise having caught him off guard.

Rei smirked. "I know. All of us have our own secrets about Ren, I suppose."

Darien put two and two together. Rei knew Ami was telling him things about Ren that she didn't know. Just like she was about to tell him something Ami didn't know. _'I'm kind of a weird choice for a confessional..' _"What happened?"

Rei's eyes scanned his furniture, seeing something in the past. "She was so angry, more angry than I've ever seen her. She almost didn't tell me what she and her parents yelled at each other about. I didn't know what to do except feed her Hagen Daz ice cream. Then slowly, stuff about the fight came out, bit by bit. And then she started talking about going to Paris."

"She wanted to move in with Beau?" Something arose in his gut at the thought--something that was not jealousy--but he ignored it.

"This is where I personally thought it got sketchy," Rei said. She folded her hands on her lap then separated them, feeling more comfortable with that. "Well, you see.. Ren and Beau weren't together."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Beau broke up with her the day before she fought with her parents." Rei frowned. "Moving to Paris was her idea of trying to get back together with him."

That gave Darien a lot to think about. "It didn't work."

"Mina was right," Rei conceded. "Ren's different. This is hard to explain, but Ren and I.. We don't get along on a good day. Or at least we didn't use to.. But now, I'd give anything to have the old Ren back. The one who had something to say about everything. The one who didn't seem so.. broken."

Darien was quiet for a moment. What Rei said actually got to him. Maybe it was because he wasn't there when Ren just took off, but hearing it from Ami and now her, he realized not everything was as black and white as it looked. "She's lucky to have friends like you, friends who read her so well."

Rei opened her mouth to way something but the sound of Jaime barking inside Darien's room had them rushing back upstairs.

_'What's going on?' _Darien took two steps to the door, his hand on the knob and twisting. _'We were only gone for two minutes..'_

Rei stood motionless alongside Darien at the sight of Serena standing outside on Darien's balcony, cigarette in one hand, trash can in the other. She took a long drag and slowly brought her hand to the trash can, ashing. It was surreal; she was so deep in thought she seemed to treat the cigarette as a prop on a set. If he hadn't smelled the tobacco burning she would've convinced him that it was.

Rei took a tentative step forward. "Ren.."

It took Serena a moment to register that Rei and Darien were actually standing behind her. She'd woken up from her memories, a dream she was sure lasted only seconds in reality, troubled. Haunted. It was so easy to pretend what she'd gone through was someone else's story when she came back to L.A. She was too busy planning on how she would crash Mina's birthday party, trying to lapse back into her old life, to really think about it. But despite not thinking about it, despite trying to run away from things that had happened in France, she couldn't escape the fact that she wasn't the same anymore. The half-smoked cigarette in her hand attested to that. "Sorry," she said, motioning to said cigarette, "It calms me down."

Rei's face was kept neutral and Darien nodded. "It's okay."

Serena silently reeled. Earlier at the studio, Darien practically bit her head off for smoking. Now, it was like he was giving her the go-ahead. _'What's with his eyes..? Like he understands.' _"Thanks," she murmured, staring at him.

Just seeing her like that made everything click in Darien's head. There was a darkness to Serena, a deep, tormented quality to her, like a shadow nobody saw until she actually let them see it. It was that same darkness he found brilliant about the script. _'It makes sense.'_

Without any warning whatsoever, Rei said, "Ren.. What happened?"

Serena had to force herself not to whip her head to her friend. Instead, she took another hit before looking up at the sky and saying, "No matter what I say, you're going to think I'm some spoiled celebrity offspring who isn't used to getting my way."

Darien picked Jaime up while she'd been talking, but he was hanging on her every word. "Want to give us the benefit of the doubt?"

She ashed her cigarette again and brought it to her lips. _'Think about what you're about to do, Ren. Don't tell them. Don't say anything.' _Then, before her thoughts could continue to stop her, she said, "Beau.. he used me." _'It was so easy to.'_

A sick feeling assaulted Darien when he heard that. Serena could've meant anything by that. "He didn't.."

"When I got there, to Paris, I called. And called and called. He didn't pick up for weeks." She tried not to sound bitter as she drudged the memories up, but the attempt was fruitless. "I figured I'd give him some space, so I went on with school, got myself an apartment with this crazy-cool girl that went by Sophie and tried to keep a low profile."

Rei spoke up. "So when he did pick up--"

"Actually," Serena interrupted, "It wasn't like that. I stopped calling because I couldn't stand seeing the paper and magazine articles showing him partying it up night after night." 'With a new girl' hung in the air, but no one dared to say it. With two quick hits she finished the cigarette and put it out, tossing the butt into the trash can and setting it down. "It wasn't until I'd run into him on the street with two random girls and a paparazzi trail that he bothered to notice me."

Darien was trying to follow along, but his anger was slowly starting to come into focus. Serena might've been acting like she was detached from that story, but he knew that it was only because she'd buried that pain so deep inside of herself that she couldn't let it show. 'This Beau character is quite the asshole.' He just went back to France and went on like he hadn't been in a relationship and ignored Ren when she tried to contact him.

"Let me guess," Rei said. "You were disgusted by him, but he apologized. He even invited you out for a drink or seven. You were skeptical at first, then you caved."

Serena simple nodded. "I caved every time. Then it got worse."

"Define worse," Darien murmured.

Serena tapped her foot nervously, then quickly forced the rest of it out. "He got me hooked on drugs."

She waited. And waited. And finally, Rei burst. "Serena Catherine Laraway."

Darien was too shocked to say anything. He heard about stuff like that all the time--it was Hollywood, so yeah, seriously--but this was someone he knew. Someone his best friend considered family. Someone who could actually tame Brandon Logan. Her parents were his heroes, for crying out loud! So yeah, when Serena said she became a drug addict, it was a damn big deal.

Serena tried to shrug off Rei's reaction, but inside she felt all mixed up. She was disappointed in herself, ashamed even. Yet she felt relieved to finally tell someone that, to finally tell one of her good friends that. The secrets she kept to herself were eating at her, clawing at the fragile structure she'd built. All the anger, hurt, and grief.. especially the grief.. 'It's in the past, Ren. The past.'

Clearing her throat, she gave Rei a humble look. "I know it was a big deal--"

"How long?"

"Eighteen months," she answered automatically, steeling herself from the raven-haired duo's shock.

A familiar fire lit up Rei's eyes. "What were you on?"

Serena shrugged. "All sorts of stuff. Pills, shit you could shoot up.." She bit her lip at Rei's face. "Soph eventually found out and got me clean." 'After the worst had already happened.'

Darien eyed her carefully, suspiciously. Sure, she was telling them a lot--which, in itself, was surprising enough--but he still felt like she was holding back. Still not telling them something. That was a scary thought. "Is that why you came back?"

"Partially" almost came out of her mouth, but she snapped her mouth shut. She couldn't bring herself to answer, but she didn't want to lie. Not to her best friend, and not to Darien. She blinked twice then put on a worn smile. "I'm beat," she said, letting out a yawn. Hoping they'd take that cue.

Rei nodded, obviously jumping for said cue. "All right," she said, sighing deeply, "Do you want me to take you back to your car?"

Darien started to object, but Serena nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling better now."

"You sure?" he asked, not quite ready to believe that.

"Yeah," she repeated. She gave him a warm smile, one that gave him a slight shiver. "Thanks. You know, for everything."

* * *

"Okay, I give in."

She furrowed her brow, staring at Darien's face like he'd grown a mole. "Give in?" she echoed.

"What is it about me that you hate so much?"

She crossed her arms in a childlike fashion. "What?"

"Is it my sincerity, my sense of humor, my hair?"

"You're being ridiculous," she said. And yet, he looked at her for a real answer. "No!"

"Then what is it--"

"I'm completely attracted to you!"

Darien pulled back, the news hitting him hard. "Right. Attraction, hatred. I can see how you'd get those two confused."

"Well, when you put it that way," she bit back sarcastically.

"Were you going for hatred? Because--"

"Ooh, you--you.. I forgot my line."

Serena smiled, despite Natalie's confession. "You self-righteous bastard; I concede and you get even more conceited."

"Thanks," Natalie said and quickly added, "Sorry."

"You're fine," Serena encouraged. "Take it from "Well, when you put it that way"."

The brunette was just about to do so when the door opened to reveal Brandon. He didn't acknowledge Andrew, Reika, Darien or Natalie, simply looked at Serena and asked, "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Unable to read his current expression Serena nodded and turned to Natalie and Darien. "Keep going," she said. "You're doing good." Once she closed the door behind her she turned to her godfather with a stern face. "What--what is it?" she asked, worried about what Brandon would say.

Brandon made sure the hall was clear before saying, "A young man named Beau has been calling for you at the studio."

Serena clenched her hand, a year full of memories rushing through her mind. And last night.. Last night she'd talked about him, was forced to remember him again. It was crazy how just thinking of him could still make her miserable, and now he was trying to get a hold of her? Even now he couldn't give her any peace.

Brandon saw her hesitance and asked, "Do you know him?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes--no. Well, I don't want to see him ever again."

Brandon gave her a sympathetic look. "I told Elsa to ignore his messages."

She made sure to give him a long grateful look. "Thank you."

* * *

**End Part Six.**

* * *

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part Seven. The Past.

_"Do you have some sort of lost and found I can give this to?" Serena asked and pressed the ID against the window._

_The woman reluctantly looked up, squinted at the ID then beckoned for her to slide it through the ticket box. Serena did so just as reluctantly._

_The second the woman picked the ID up she nodded. "Oh yes," she said. "He told me you would come. Here.."_


	8. part seven

**Title:** You Never Know  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language, may change in later chapters  
**Full Description:** Serena Laraway gave her career up in hot pursuit of love. Three years later, the ex-supermodel returns to L.A. alone and heartbroken, with only a screenplay-in-the-making to her name. She's swearing off love this time, but what she doesn't know is that love's been waiting to snag her back at home all along..and it comes in the form of Darien Scott!

* * *

**Author's Announcements: **Thanks to **Silver Moonlight-81**, **rosebudjamie**, **Peaceful Moon**, **jessicam242**, **Fire Dolphin**, **sarahr85**, **Macala Armstrong**, **ffgirlmoonie**, **Dertupio**, **supersaiyanx**, **Uhamilton**, **maccasapplepie**, **Mercedes Jay**, **kireisnowtenshi**, **Goddess of Elements**, **fireangel621** and **whoknoez **for reading and reviewing. I can't remember which reviews I responded to but I do appreciate that you took the time to give me feedback. Updates on this fic are so random that I'm constantly wondering if anyone actually still reads this, but your comments keep me from deleting it. Thanks for your support!

So far this fic has gotten over 12,000 hits and is on 47 favorite and 89 alert lists.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Seven. The Past.  
****_"I'll meet you halfway."_**

* * *

Brandon matched her gaze. "I don't believe you."

Serena sighed, knowing that he was going to say that. Why else would he have asked her to step out and made sure no one would hear him mentioning Beau to her before he spoke? And her reaction to bringing him up was probably a big clue. "Brandon, we've got a lot of work to do. We're already behind pre-production schedule--"

"It's him, isn't it?"

She threw her hand up. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, and I have to tell you that I don't care about lines right now," Brandon replied, eyes still on her. "Why is he calling the studio?"

"I don't know. To stir up trouble, maybe." She took a step toward the window behind them, not really looking out for the view. She'd been asking herself the same question for a few minutes already. Why was he trying to get to her? It didn't make sense. They'd been over for months. What could he possibly have to say to her? _'Maybe he wants a second chance.. to completely ruin my life.'_

Serena gave Brandon a quick glance and saw how worried he really was. Her stress ignored for the moment, she tried to give him a smile. "It's okay. He'll give up eventually. Plus, Elsa can be quite terse when she wants to be."

Brandon smiled with what looked to be as much effort as she'd put into one. "I don't want you to be upset, Ren."

She mentally crossed her fingers and tried to look brave. "I won't be."

* * *

Darien watched as Serena sighed once again. She'd been like that ever since Brandon pulled her aside. Whatever he'd said bothered her, which bothered him. Was it about them? Were they behind, and was Brandon pissed that they were running behind? It was to be expected, since Natalie was just now getting her act together with Ren's help, so what could he have possibly said? What news was _that_ bad that would have her shaken up?

* * *

_It was ten. She was two hours late. Then again, if she felt she really had a choice, she wouldn't have even shown up. But she had to. The man had given her his driver's license! She was morally obligated to return it._

_By the time she'd finally coaxed herself into going, it was eight-thirty. Now the place was deserted. She looked around, hoping to see him, but he wasn't there. She'd lost her chance to give that back, or more importantly, see him again._

_Serena took a deep breath and, clutching Beau's license in her hand, stepped up to the ticket master. "What can I do for you?" the woman asked, not even looking up._

_"Do you have some sort of lost and found I can give this to?" Serena asked and pressed the ID against the window._

_The woman reluctantly looked up, squinted at the ID then beckoned for her to slide it through the ticket box. Serena did so just as reluctantly._

_The second the woman picked the ID up she nodded. "Oh yes," she said. "He told me you would come. Here.."_

_She reached behind her and produced a card on a lanyard. Serena read the letters. V.I.P. She furrowed her brow. "Umm, are you sure we're talking about the same person?"_

_"Yeah, yeah," she said, handing the ID back and waving Serena's protests away. "You'd better hurry, you might be able to catch one song."_

_Not understanding what the hell the woman was saying to her, Serena took Beau's ID and the lanyard and walked into the Glass House. When she got inside a buff-looking bouncer spotted her lanyard and escorted her through a great big crowd of people her age. As she trailed the man's muscular back, she heard the crowd going wild as a rock song ended. She winced as they passed a group of screaming teens, wishing they'd finish puberty so their voices would drop a few octaves._

_In no time they reached the backstage, Serena still not seeing Beau anywhere. She hoped he wasn't dragging her on a wild goose chase, because as much as she wanted to see him, she wasn't going to hunt him down like a scavenger. She thanked the bouncer and stepped away from a sound crew member as he stormed through. And that's when she finally laid eyes on the act._

_Beau_ was _the act. Front and center with his metallic black electric guitar, microphone to his face, his presence swamped the stage even with the rest of his band behind him. Ren shook her head, not believing it. Beau Cassidy really was a big deal._

* * *

_She stayed in the shadows and watched two women with more leathery-tanned skin than clothes approach him and throw their arms around him intimately. Fans? She scoffed. More like his private entourage._

_Again, her brain was scolding her, telling her, "See? He's got groupies, all the attention he could want. You just happened to be yesterday's news." She really wanted to shut that mental voice up, but as she watched him respond to those women in kind, she realized that voice was right. She didn't fit in with that man. He was bold, brash, sexy.. Not that she was saying she couldn't be--she wouldn't have been a supermodel if she wasn't, but Beau was most definitely a wild child at heart. Where Serena had to be trained to be in-your-face daring in her early toddler years, Beau was born with his rocker persona._

_No, she didn't belong there._

_Taking a deep breath, she stepped back, ready to walk away. However, she had the misfortune of stepping directly under a light._

_As soon as he saw her, he stopped. She might've been seeing things but she thought she saw his jaw drop. The women were long forgotten, but Serena raised a skeptical eyebrow anyway. He took his arms off them and walked straight up to her. "I thought you decided not to come, Serena," he softly said._

_"I didn't have a choice," she said, smiling sickeningly sweet. She brought her hand up and produced his ID. "Surprised you actually remember my name, considering I'm not a fan or anything."_

_He gave her a lopsided grin. "No, you're most definitely not a fan."_

_Serena shook her head. "I don't know what the hell that means," she said in a no-nonsense voice, "but here's your license. Hope you didn't waste too much money on our lowly, Western taxi services." With that she practically jammed the card back into his hand._

_"Hey," he said, grabbing her wrist just as she would've pulled away, "Why are you acting so obtuse?"_

_"Obtuse?" she echoed, barely believing her ears. "_You_, monsieur, were the one playing a game with me. Is this how you get your kicks abroad? Crash a party and hit on the closest American chick you can get your hands on?"_

_"If I'm not mistaken,_ chère_, you were the one hitting on me," he had the impudence to point out. When he saw her inability to deny his accusation he went on. "Is that how you and your lovely friends get your kicks? Take bets on who can seduce the closest, sexiest male you can get--"_

_"That's not what we were doing--"_

_"So you weren't trying to seduce me?"_

_"Trying?" Serena raised her brow. "I'm standing here because you invited me to come here, so no, I wouldn't say I was _trying_ to do anything."_

_"Semantics. Were you, or were you not, put up by your friends to seduce me?"_

_"I was," she conceded spitefully._

_"So it had nothing to do with you being attracted to me?"_

_She threw up her hands. "I don't understand why we're having this conversation. Let's just chalk this all up to a bad chance meeting and call it a night."_

_In a move she wasn't expecting he pulled her by the wrist and held her to him, his arm dangerously low around her waist. She gasped, getting so close to his warm body, and shivered when his fingers absently stroked her side. He looked down at her lips and brought his eyes up slowly, the visual scan of just her face leaving her boneless all over. "What if I don't want to call it a night?"_

_"I'm not really up for an after-party," she said, glancing at the two impatient fans he left in pursuit of her._

_"Me either," he agreed, refusing to look at anything but her._

_Serena's heart fluttered. Even though her mind was trying to remind her that she should be pulling away, should be telling him "screw you" and that she wasn't attracted to him at all--well, her body wasn't listening. "Are you trying to seduce me?"_

_"Trying?" he mocked._

_Somehow, a warning bell struck in her mind. "You're not just.. trying to get even with me, are you?"_

_He smiled, making her warm all over. "Let's just put it this way," he said, pulling her hips to meet his._

_She gasped again, feeling just how _wrong_ she'd been. And suddenly, she was shaking with need. "Point taken," she replied breathlessly._

_Just when she thought the air was too thick for her to keep breathing, he leaned over and brushed his lips over hers. Teasing, at first, then he kissed her in the most possessive of ways. Serena had never been kissed like this before, so passionately, so completely. There was no question as to whether he would be just as skilled in other.. intimate ways. Just thinking about it had her grabbing onto him for dear life._

_He pulled back eventually, placing his forehead against hers as he struggled for air. "This is going to sound too forward," he said between breaths, "but I really, really want you."_

_"D'accord."_

_He looked at her, amused._

_"I picked up a few words while I was in Prague," she replied._

_He smiled, an act that warmed her more. "Should I take that as a green light?"_

_She bit her lip. Inside, she knew she should say no. He was a stranger, a celebrity, a man too handsome and too interested in sleeping with her for it to be a good idea. She would've probably been given the cold shoulder in the morning. It could've been the worst mistake of her life. But as she stared into his bright, hazel eyes, she couldn't focus on anything but the present. "Where are you staying?"_

* * *

_Serena sighed, placing a hand over her forehead. She couldn't believe that she was lying naked in a hotel room with the most gorgeous man she'd ever laid eyes on. Especially not after what they did. She smiled, wanting to laugh at how absurd the situation was._

_Beau lazily rolled on his side, and propped his head on his hand to look down at her. "Regrets?"_

_"No," she breathed, "Just tired."_

_"Don't I know it," he commented, smiling._

_She laughed. The man was too adorable to be chided for his brashness. And he was looking very delectable at that moment, waves clinging to his glistening face, his body a Greek sculpture come to life. "You are quite the sight."_

_"Thanks."_

_She furrowed her brow in fake annoyance. "What? Nothing to say back?"_

_He chuckled, planting a kiss on the crook of her neck. He breathed in deeply, making the spot tingle. "Do I need to?"_

_"Well, you look like you've just stepped off of the set of "300" and I'm.. I'm not.." When he just smiled at her, she said, "Just saying any woman in my shoes would start to feel insecure at this point."_

_"A lesser woman, maybe," he conceded. "Not you. You seem comfortable with every part of your body." He ran a finger up her arm sensually. "I know I am."_

_Serena felt a goofy grin spread across her face. "Smooth."_

_Those were the last words they exchanged before they both fell asleep. When morning came, Serena woke first. She sat up, stretched and got out of bed. She'd gotten her jeans on just as Beau woke, too. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice full of sleep._

_She had a fitting to go to and she wanted to get breakfast beforehand, but she didn't need to tell him that, did she? They had a one-night stand, roughly put. She knew the score, knew that he was indulging her in casual talk before the grand goodbye. It was better to be truthful than pleasant, she supposed, so she answered, "Leaving."_

_She heard rustling behind her and then, "It's eight in the morning."_

_"Yeah," she confirmed, "Got a full day."_

_"Is your night free?"_

_She paused and turned, looking at Beau like he'd grown a second head. "Why do you ask?"_

_"Isn't it obvious?" He furrowed his brow at her confusion. "I want to see you."_

_Serena shrugged her shirt on. "Beau, we both got what we wanted last night. Why mess it up with an awkward attempt at round two?"_

_"I didn't want to just sleep with you last night, Serena," he argued._

_"You didn't. We had sex," she said._

_The crudeness of her words had him taken aback. "We did," he agreed cautiously. "Wild, crazy, ecliptic--"_

_"I was there," Serena interrupted. She gave an apologetic smile. "I really did enjoy last night." With that, she grabbed her bag and started heading for the door._

_That had Beau up and in his boxers quickly. "Serena, wait. Wait," he said, making her reluctantly pause without physically stopping her. A million questions seemed to fly through his eyes, but he just looked incredulously at her and asked, "How can you be so quick to let this go?"_

_She shrugged, trying not to feel any emotional attachment to him or his lovely words at all. "That's just it. There's nothing to let go of."_

_"You're wrong," he said with passion. "I knew, from the moment you smiled at me, that you were.. special."_

_"And that's when you decided to give me your license?"_

_Beau gave her a shy smile that made her want to smile. "No. I was sold when our fingers touched and I felt electricity race all over my body. Don't tell me you didn't feel it."_

_She decided to stay silent, neither confirming nor denying the statement._

_His eyes softened, and he took her hand and gently placed them in his. "I've never done something like this before," he said. Ignoring her skeptical brow, he continued, "But I have no regrets. You fascinate me, mind-blowing sex aside. I would very much like to spend time with you."_

_She remained still, though his confession had her heart doing all sorts of crazy things. "How long are you staying here?"_

* * *

_Serena made a daring S-pose, kicking one leg out and bringing her chin to her left shoulder. Thankfully, she was supposed to be looking across the river so the flashes from the camera and surrounding lights weren't so bad. She reversed the pose, moving to her right, focused now on the bridge overlooking the river. More flashes. More poses. More relocations. She was exhausted by the time the photographer and crew called it a day, but she didn't complain. Mentally, she was still on cloud nine._

_It had been two months since her one-night stand with Beau, and they were still together. Apparently he was on a contracted one-year tour in the United States and was on month three when they met. Which meant that there was plenty of time for them to see if things could work out between them. Their lives were hectic--his tour, her schooling and modeling--but they made sure to see each other at least twice a week. If either was out of town, she would fly to him one time and he would fly to her the next. And, of course, there was a lot of romance in between. Serena'd never received so many flowers, candy grams and random, sweet phone calls in any relationship previous to that one. It was no wonder the paparazzi were following her day and night, trying to figure out who her mystery boyfriend was._

_The high of being in a relationship still in its honeymoon state didn't prepare her for the surprise waiting for her when she got home._

_She could hear Beau yelling in French the second she walked past the door. She found him in the living room, stalking back and forth, livid as he spoke into his cell phone. She placed her bag down watching him, trying to figure out what he was saying, but he was speaking too fast. When he finally saw her, he mumbled something and hung up. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back from Houston for another three days."_

_"Yeah, well, surprise," he snapped._

_Serena paused, ignoring the spike in her temper, and gave him a concerned expression. "What happened?"_

_"They cancelled it. They fucking cancelled my tour!"_

_She bit her lip at his anger. "Why would they do such a thing?" she asked._

_"One of our fellow tour bands decided to cut loose to finish recording which, for some unheavenly known reason, made another band drop out. We brought this up with management and they decided to shut us down. They're telling all our fans that we're cancelling for "internal issues"," he said, using his fingers to quote that last bit. He brought his leg up to kick thin air. "Miserable Americans." (**A/N:** this was not in any way written to offend Americans or the French.)_

_Again, Serena forced herself to stay passive. "That's terrible news--"_

_"It's the worst!" he spat._

_Before he went on a swearing rampage, she softly asked, "What are you going to do?"_

_"Go back to France, of course," he said without hesitation. "If they think they can screw us over, they thought wrong. Many countries have been begging for a tour. This way, I can go back home."_

_She didn't think he realized the words he said in anger were tearing away at her insides. "You're going to leave," she said._

_"I can drive my own car, speak in my own language--"_

_"You're going to leave," she repeated._

_Beau paused, turning and looking at her. "I have no other choice."_

_"You have plenty of choices," Serena said. "You could get another touring contract with another company, start recording here--"_

_"Not without my bandmates," he interrupted. "They're already looking for flight tickets. They're homesick and frankly, so am I."_

_Serena tried not to scowl, but it was impossible at the moment. "I know this is selfish to ask, but.. where does this leave us?"_

_Beau turned away and resumed prowling back and forth. Finally, he stopped and stared at her. "Nowhere."_

_Tears sprang to her eyes instantaneously. "Wow," she gasped, not realizing she'd been holding her breath, "Way to keep it simple."_

_His eyes turned apologetic. __"Nothing with us is simple, Ren. I have to go back and you have to stay here."_

_"You could stay. At the very least you could come back. I could come see you," she said, hating how desperate she sounded._

_"I just don't see us going anywhere."_

_As if she'd never heard that line delivered many times in movies, in broadway, hell, especially in soap operas. But she never understood how tormenting those words could be. That they could sum up the current situation. That they had the power to destroy the future of the best relationship she'd had._

_It was as if an optimistic part of her suddenly came to light, because she looked him straight in the eye and said, __"We can do this. I know we can."_

_Even with all the conviction in her words, even with the tears pooling in her eyes, he shook his head. __"I don't know how we could possibly make this work." At her still-hopeful look, he added, "I'm sorry."_

_Those words were a nightmare. Her nightmare come to life. He turned what they had into a_ _cliché. And the worst part was he couldn't even muster up the effort to care. __"For what? Sorry you're saying goodbye for no good reason? Sorry for not wanting to actually try to meet me halfway? Do you even know what the hell you're saying sorry for?"_

_"Our lives are too different!" he shouted, overpowering her tirade with a voice trained to project. "You know this. I belong in France. You belong to the multinational modeling world."_

_He made sense, but at the same time he didn't make any sense whatsoever. Serena sighed in frustration, tears dripping as she stared at the beautiful man she'd fallen in love with in practically no time at all. __"You should've let me walk away that first night. Would've saved me a lot of heartache."_

_On his way out, he angled his head, back still facing her. "I do love you," he said, "but I know myself. I can't share you with the rest of the world and someday, you'll see that you can't do the same for me, either."_

* * *

_Serena tried, really tried to get over him. She erased his number from her phone, tried to distract herself with work and school, to no avail. Beau was constantly on her mind. How sweet he was, everything he said right before he left. If she wasn't thinking about him she was dreaming about him, his curly, ravenous hair, his brooding eyes and his devastating smile. He plagued her, night and day, relentlessly. When the semester ended, she wound up skipping a few key gigs. They weren't as important to her anymore, as she'd lost her enthusiasm for modeling._

_Three days--which were like three weeks in model time--after her hibernation, she found herself dialing a familiar number._

_"Hello?" came the reply._

_"Kristophe."_

_"Honey, thank all the deities known to man! When you didn't show up for that photo shoot for Vogue I didn't know what to do--do you know what kind of panic you sent Jackie and I into? I swore a kidney to her--"_

_"That's so.. touching," she said, sounding unconvinced, "But Kristophe, I'm afraid I have more bad news."_

_"You have a zit, don't you? I guess that would sort of explain--"_

_"No, it's nothing that.. small." She sighed, wishing she'd known it would be this hard. "I'm terminating my contract. Effective immediately."_

_Silence._

_"Hello?"_

_More silence._

_"Kristophe, honey?"_

_"_Have you gone completely all-work-no-play-makes-Jack-a-dull-boy crazy?!_"_

_For some reason she was comforted by the fact that he was yelling into the phone. "I guess that makes you Wendy Torrance. Now, before you start hyperventilating--"_

_"Already happening."_

_"--I want to explain why."_

_"Yes, please do, because I cannot imagine why one of the most famous, glamorous, successful, self-promoting and wonderfully sweet supermodels is telling me why she. Is. Leaving. My. Agency." If she wasn't mistaken he was stomping his foot with every panicked word._

_"I'm not just leaving you and this agency, Kris. I'm going to stop modeling altogether."_

_Now he was definitely wheezing._

_"Kris, you're taking this terribly."_

_"You're right. I should be jumping for joy!" he exclaimed sarcastically._

_"Look, I just want to finish school before I go back to this."_

_Kristophe paused. __"I thought you were going to try and do both."_

_"Yeah, and I almost failed both semesters because of all of these gigs. I can't model and further my education at the same time. I just can't. And I've thought about which option means more to me.."_

_Another pause. __"You're not acting out because of that boy."_

_"Kris," she said, a warning._

_"No," he argued, "You're not acting out because of that boy. _Please_ tell me you are not acting out because of that boy."_

_"Careful what you beg for."_

_"What was that?"_

_"Nothing. Kris, you know me. You know what I've been going through not only with Beau.. but with everything else." Man, it had hurt to actually say his name. "Truth is, I can't do this anymore. I can't balance my modeling career with my life. You've been wonderful, the agency has been wonderful, but I won't be satisfied with flexibility. I need to let it go."_

_Kristophe didn't say anything for a long time, so long that she had to glance at her phone to make sure they hadn't disconnected. Eventually, she heard, "Nothing pains me more than you telling me this, but I appreciate your honesty. I sincerely hope that you'll be happy."_

_A mixture of emotions overwhelmed her. "Thank you--"_

_"But if you do change your mind, you know who to call."_

_Serena smirked. "I do. Take care of yourself, Kristophe."_

_"Kisses," he ended in a flourish._

_Serena pressed end and immediately dialed another number._

_"Hey," Mina said as a way of greeting._

_"Hey," Serena mirrored, "Didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?"_

_"It's your lucky day. Everything's gone wrong today, so no, this isn't the worst I've had to deal with."_

_"Thanks," she replied sarcastically._

_Mina chuckled. "What can I do for you?"_

_"Nothing. Scratch that," she corrected herself, "You may want to sit down for this."_

_"Already there. Spill."_

_"I kind of, sort of, quit modeling."_

_Silence._

_"Mina, at least tell me you are still breathing."_

_"Ren! Are you serious? How can you possibly be serious?"_

_"I don't know, it's just everything," Serena confessed. "I'm frazzled by how close I came to failing this semester, flying everywhere, and my love life is dead."_

_"You're sure, though? That you want to quit modeling, I mean."_

_Serena ignored the static that was coming from the other line. "Yeah. I mean, it's not meant to be indefinite. I want to finish college first and.. there's just so many things I want to do."_

_Mina sighed. "Ren, I'm so glad you decided to quit."_

_Surprised, Serena asked, "You are?"_

_"Yeah. I mean, I didn't want to be the one to have to quit first--"_

_"You were thinking of quitting?" Serena boomed._

_"Volume much?" Mina spat back. "And yeah, the fun was kind of sucked out of modeling once we reached the top--or however near to the top a supermodel can be. The challenge isn't there anymore, either. I was thinking of creating my own line, maybe makeup.. Maybe just clothing.. What do you think?"_

_"I think you should do whatever you feel you do best," she actually had the confidence to say. "Just wait a day or two before calling Kristophe. Don't want him to suffer an angina attack."_

* * *

_Ren waited twelve hours before she went to her parents'. She'd been debating whether or not she should put off telling them about her decision, but the fear that she wouldn't be the first one to tell them won her over. As she loped around the dining room, searching for them, she managed to compose herself. That is, until she found them in the living room._

_"Ren! What a surprise," her father said happily._

_"I meant to call first," she said meekly as she hugged him. She turned to her mother, but she was already poised to attack, arms on her hips._

_"Yes. You should've told us you were coming first, just as you should've given us early warning as to what you've done," Emilie said coolly._

_Heat flooded her face. Michael looked from mother to daughter. "What on earth do you mean, Em?"_

_Serena opened her mouth to explain, but Emilie took that opportunity from her. "Our daughter has decided to quit modeling. Contract termination already pending, as per her vocal request."_

_Michael's jaw actually drop. "Ren? This is true, n'est-ce pas?"_

_Serena was too dumbstruck by what was quickly happening to do anything but nod._

_"But why? I don't understand."_

_"I couldn't handle it. Modeling. School.."_

_"There's an easy solution to that. You stick to modeling," Emilie said, her hands flying everywhere as she used them to emphasize what she was saying._

_"I want to finish school. It's a dream I've always had. That's no secret."_

_Emilie huffed, but Michael hushed her. "What does this mean? What do you plan on doing now?"_

_"Well," Serena said slowly, "I've been thinking about studying abroad--"_

_"You cannot be serious," Emilie interrupted. "This is about that man. Serena, he _left_ you."_

_"He didn't want to," she said, heat starting to rise to her cheeks. "He made the choice to leave based on his career."_

_"And so you're making the choice to leave your career based on what? Chasing around Europe, trying to get back with him? __Let us not forget what your decisions are doing to dear Mina."_

_"What about Mina?"_

_"You're ruining Mina's future as well as your own, all for a single man!" Emilie had yelled._

_"Don't put all the blame on me!" Serena said, her anger completely unfolded. "Mina chose to quit on her own!"_

_Michael had to stop Emilie again from speaking. Looking at his daughter he softly asked, __"So what will happen to you, then? Do you plan to marry this man?"_

_Serena shook her head. She wasn't sure she was going to leave the country, much less find a way to cross paths with Beau. __"I don't know, Papa."_

_"Then think this through, Ren. Do you really want to give your career up for an insecure future?"_

_Again, she had no answer for him. __"I don't know, Papa."_

_"Tell us what you do know!" Emilie shrieked, on the verge of throwing a three-hundred dollar vase at the wall._

_"I'm not throwing my life away, if that's what you think I plan on doing! I have other dreams, one that includes a man, yes, but that's only a part of it. I want to make something of myself, I actually want to earn my own name!" By this time she was shaking, her anger rising to a new level with each heaving breath._

_"You see, Michael?" Emilie cried, throwing her hands in the air, "This is why we shouldn't have sent her to college."_

* * *

_Serena had left with her head held high, but by the time she was in her car and out of her parents' driveway she was steaming mad and crying. She'd stumbled a few times, tiny yet sharp rocks getting into her feet, but she didn't care. She had to get away from her mom, her dad. How could her mom be such a viper? Was it so abnormal that she wanted to go to college? Why couldn't she have supported her instead of picking a fight in front of her dad? To see that many emotions crossing his face as she was being torn apart was the most unforgivable thing her mother had done to date._

_She slid into her car and shut the door with a deafening slam that made the silence that followed much more intense. And then she was choking and leaning forward, tears spilling onto her steering wheel. Whatever. She didn't care. The people that she'd put her faith in had fallen through. Beau, and now her mother. What was so bad about her that they looked at her with disapproval? Wasn't she enough? All she could hear in her mind was a resounding 'no'._

_Shaking her head, she dug into her pocket for her cell phone._

_Rei answered on the first half-ring. __"What's happening?" she asked distractedly._

_Serena took a breath, hoping to find something to say. Nothing._

_"Hello?"_

_Not enough air yet._

_"Ren. Say something."_

_She took a very shaky breath. "Too much."_

_"What?" Rei ask, stumped._

_"Too much is happening for my brain to follow," Serena amended, and suddenly the words were flowing out of her overwhelmingly fast. "Just.. everything with Beau, then with my recent failures with school and work. I mean.. I don't know. __I need to get out of here, I need--"_

_"Whoa, whoa," Rei interjected. "Where are you?"_

_"My parents," Serena clarified. "__They.. Rei, it's a long and winded story that I shouldn't have called and bothered you about--"_

_"Nonsense," Rei replied, her voice revealing she would brook no arguments on the matter. "I'll meet you halfway."_

_Of course, had she been in her right mind, she wouldn't have bothered to read into that simple statement. Since she wasn't, and since her best friend was already proving why she was her best friend, she read into it and found the strength to keep breathing. "Thanks."_

* * *

**End Part Seven.**

* * *

A glimpse at the next chapter, Part Eight. The Explanation.

_She couldn't believe it. He really didn't remember her. She placed a hand on her face, fingers going every feature. Before she knew it, she was grabbing at her hair, trying to recall how she put her hair up. It felt the same, nothing out of place. She scrambled to find the mirror in her purse and took a look at herself. Same lip gloss, too._

_She watched her brows furrow in confusion and stared off into the distance, expecting to see him coming back as he realized his mistake. He did know the cute-looking blonde who'd bumped into him and called him by his name._


End file.
